The New Barnet Day Nursery and Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Leaders have made significant improvements since the last inspection. They know the importance of working in partnership to bring about positive change to improve outcomes for children. They have gathered feedback from families and improved relationships with external agencies. The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) and staff work together to assess children to ensure they are given additional support at the earliest opportunity. Leaders have reflected on staff practice and have improved knowledge and understanding of safeguarding and skills to help to support children's language development.

Staff have strong relationships with children. Children show excitement and happiness as they see familiar staff. Leaders have a well-planned curriculum that staff implement through children's interests. Babies are enthusiastic to engage in sensory experiences, such as water and citrus fruit. Pre-school children are curious to explore new materials when creating statues. Staff have realistic expectations of children, and in turn, children are confident to share their achievements with staff.

Staff are positive in their interactions and praise children to reinforce good behaviour. Staff are quick to recognise what children are communicating through their behaviours, which means they can respond to their needs appropriately. This helps children to feel safe and secure.

What does the early years setting do well and what does it need to do better?

• Leaders have a clear sequenced curriculum in place. They focus on supporting staff to understand child development and how to implement the curriculum within each age group. Leaders provide training in staff meetings to continuously improve staff knowledge. Staff reflect on training and how they can support each child individually. This helps children to be prepared for their next stage in learning.
• Staff have a good knowledge of children's individual interests and next steps in learning. They use observations to plan interesting activities. Children develop fine motor skills as they use a range of tools in sensory experiences. In the garden, children practise their gross motor skills as they run around cones during football time and build large structures in the construction area.
• Staff support children's communication and language skills well. Toddlers enjoy singing familiar songs and rhymes. Staff engage older children in conversations and support them to hear new words. This helps to extend children's vocabulary.
• Children develop a love of books and reading. Babies sit with staff to listen as they read their favourite stories, and they then go and choose books to look at independently. Additionally, leaders have developed a lending library to encourage parents to share books at home. This helps children to develop a positive attitude to books, which supports their early literacy skills.
• Leaders have focused on building an established key-person system in the nursery to ensure that children have secure attachments. Parents say that they feel the team has made huge improvements since the last inspection, and they are now more confident about who their child's key person is and who to report to if they are absent.
• Recent staff changes in the toddler room mean there has been a change in consistency, and there are times when the routine does not run as smoothly as possible. This means that, occasionally, children can become disengaged and unsettled.
• Staff have clear expectations of children's behaviour and support them well. Children behave appropriately and play cooperatively with their friends. Children are beginning to express how they feel. However, staff do not always help children to use a wider range of words to express how they are feeling, to help support their emotional development.
• Children are confident in the routine of the day and get excited by mealtimes. Very young children rush to the sink to wash their hands, and toddlers are eager to get into the garden when it is their turn. Staff talk to children about the effects of exercise on their bodies. Children listen carefully to their heart beating after physical activity. This helps children to begin to learn about self-care. However, staff do not consistently support children's understanding of personal care routines to stop the spread of germs.
• The SENCo and staff are quick to identify children who are not at their expected levels of development. They share information with parents and work in partnership with other professionals to develop next steps in learning. This helps children to make the best possible progress.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• evaluate and minimise the impact of staff changes to ensure that children's needs are met consistently
• provide staff with support to help children understand and express their feelings and behaviour
• ensure that staff consistently promote good health to support children's understanding of the various ways germs can spread.