The Jays Day Care Nursery, Pre-school and Outdoor Learning

Inclusion: Expected standard

Leaders know children and families well and quickly identify potential barriers to children's learning. They ensure that emerging gaps in children's development are recognised early. Leaders have a secure understanding of children's individual needs and plan targeted support effectively. This includes the thoughtful use of early years pupil premium funding to enhance children's experiences. For example, leaders use this to enable participation in forest school, provide additional learning opportunities, extra adults to enhance communication and reduce group sizes.

Leaders prioritise close partnerships with parents and carers. Staff work sensitively with families to discuss any developmental concerns, break down barriers and support them in accessing external services where needed. This collaborative approach helps to ensure that children receive timely and appropriate support.

Leaders ensure staff have a clear understanding of the individual approach needed for children, such as to assess, plan, do and review. They confidently demonstrate and describe how strategies to support children's access to their learning are implemented. However, these are not yet consistently embedded in practice across the staff team. As a result, approaches to support children are not always implemented with sufficient consistency to maximise outcomes for all children.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Leaders have thoughtfully designed a curriculum that meets the learning and development requirements of the early years foundation stage. They place an emphasis on personal, social and emotional development at its core. This is evident in practice, where children receive support to feel safe, secure and stimulated. Confidence and independence are consistently promoted through small-group learning and highly responsive staff.

Staff gather detailed information from parents and carers when children start. They ensure that teaching is adapted to support children's individual starting points, including for those who are disadvantaged or face other barriers to learning. A clear focus on promoting social skills and positive attitudes to learning is embedded across all age groups. Children develop a love of books, with staff engaging them in meaningful conversations and skilfully using stories to extend communication and vocabulary.

A hands-on approach to learning is encouraged with a focus on outdoor learning. The setting leads an embedded forest school curriculum for children. This builds their skills sequentially, develops their confidence in a natural environment and to experience different weathers. Children develop an awareness of keeping safe and consistently develop positive attitudes to physical activity. Staff use assessment appropriately to understand what children know and can do. They celebrate children's progress with pride. However, at times during daily routines, such as after mealtimes, children experience uncertainty and prolonged waiting. This leads to times when they are not engaged in their learning. In addition, interactions with the youngest children and those with emerging language are not consistently of a high quality to fully support their communication development.

Achievement: Expected standard

Children's achievement is supported by a clear and effective settling-in process. Children's learning and developmental starting points are established early and understood. This supports the early identification of need and informs teaching approaches to help children progress.

Children across all age groups make progress in their learning. Particular focus is placed on children achieving well in their personal, social and emotional skills. Children develop well over time, including those who have confidently transitioned between rooms. Transitions between rooms are managed sensitively with emphasis on children's emotional readiness, confidence and the independence needed for future learning. This approach also supports children for school readiness.

Children who are disadvantaged, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and those who are known to children's social care or face other barriers to learning receive support to make progress through individualised approaches linked to their starting points.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Leaders have established a positive and nurturing environment, where they embed positive behaviour and attitudes to learning. Staff act as positive role models. They support children to be kind, caring and respectful towards one another. Relationships between staff and children are warm and secure. This is underpinned by a clear understanding of the importance of attachment. This helps children to settle well when starting at the setting or when transitioning between rooms and to grow in independence.

Staff carefully plan learning opportunities to encourage collaboration, social opportunities, turn-taking, independence skills and positive interactions. As a result, children enjoy sociable mealtimes and play confidently alongside their peers. Children, particularly in the older age groups, show curiosity about others' ideas and engage well in shared learning experiences. Staff take account of children's age, stage of development and individual circumstances. They introduce expectations gradually and prepare children well before accessing more difficult experiences, such as forest outings. Leaders also promote the importance of regular attendance and take time to check in with families who are not in attendance to offer support.

Staff are mindful of overstimulation. They promote smaller groups and a calm focused environment to welcome children in to at the start of their session to encourage a positive attitude to learning. Staff do not yet provide a consistent approach to teaching to best support the full participation of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities in daily routines in the nursery, for example ensuring children who need support to engage are skilfully encouraged to join their peers without waiting.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard

Leaders and the whole staff team place a strong emphasis on children's welfare and wellbeing. They demonstrate a comprehensive knowledge of all children and their families. Care practices are highly responsive and meet all children's individual needs effectively.

Secure and nurturing relationships are a clear strength in the setting. The key-person system provides children with consistent reassurance, comfort and affection, particularly for children who are settling. Staff expertly use an individual approach that reflects children's differing needs throughout the day. As a result, children develop an excellent sense of emotional security and belonging.

Staff constantly include the language of emotions in play opportunities. They encourage children to positively regulate their emotions and coach parents to support at drop-off times. There is a consistent focus on social skills, confidence and growing independence. This enables children to make choices and develop self-care skills appropriate to their age.

Embedded in the nursery's well-structured routine are healthy messages about regular mealtimes, food choices, physical activity, access to the outdoors and emotional wellbeing. Staff share consistent messages about making healthy choices and role model these to children. As a result, children make their own healthy choices and build a solid foundation for long-lasting healthy habits.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Leaders have established a clear and ambitious vision for the setting linked to where they are based in their local community and their desire to provide nature-inspired opportunities for children. Leaders strive to build effective partnerships working inclusively with all families and external professionals to support the identification of disadvantage and barriers to learning.

Leaders' passion and enthusiasm are evident in the day-to-day running of the setting. They draw effectively on their knowledge and experience to support its development. Leaders demonstrate a secure understanding of the setting's strengths and are committed to ongoing improvement. They take carefully planned action to improve areas and have a positive impact on children.

Leaders have fostered a positive working environment where staff feel supported and valued. Workload is carefully managed with leaders supporting in rooms to guide the vision intended through the daily practice. Caring and nurturing practice is consistently promoted as a key priority. Some staff in the team have engaged in additional professional development opportunities to extend their role. However, leaders often take on multiple roles and do not consistently embed good practice across the staff team, particularly in relation to the implementation of strategies to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. As a result, staff do not consistently improve their practice further.