The Sanctuary Day Nursery Burntwood

Inclusion: Expected standard

Staff and leaders quickly identify children's learning needs. This is because they provide accurate and regular monitoring of children's progress. Staff liaise effectively with parents and other professionals, as needed, to ensure that children receive the right help when they need it. Staff use appropriate methods to work towards developmental targets and share this information with parents and carers to continue the support at home. Staff are trained effectively to review children's progress. They share this information with parents and other agencies involved to benefit the children in preparation for what they are ready to learn.

Close relationships with parents and carers enable staff to make adaptations to the support and interactions effectively to support children who may be disadvantaged or face barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing. Staff communicate regularly with parents to enable children to receive the support they need to feel included and to ensure that practice is tailored and inclusive for all children to gain the most benefit from their time in the setting.

Additional funding that is received is used to support the developmental needs of those in receipt of the funding, to help them to develop their skills further. Although this funding has had a positive impact on these children at this time, leaders do not yet ensure that it is matched more precisely to meet these individual children's needs.

Curriculum and teaching: Strong standard

The setting has designed an extremely ambitious curriculum, which is well sequenced to build on children's learning over time. The curriculum is fully embedded and shows clear intentions for what staff want children to achieve, which prepares them for the next stage of their learning. High focus is placed on supporting children to develop independence in their self-help tasks. For example, babies receive support to strengthen their core muscles in preparation for sitting, then crawling to independently explore their environment. Staff adapt the environments and their teaching to ensure children's learning and wellbeing needs are met. This includes for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face other barriers to their learning and wellbeing. For example, staff are innovative and bring the learning outside for those who thrive when involved in physical activity.

Staff use information gained from parents at the start, together with their observations, to understand where children are developing and to decide what they are ready to learn next. Time is provided to ensure that children have abundant opportunities to practise and strengthen the skills they have learned while revisiting activities and experiences. Staff skilfully support children to develop a deeper knowledge and extend their thinking while increasing their vocabulary. For example, while painting still life, children describe what they see, using expressive language and structured sentences. They recall the names of parts of a flower, saying, 'petal', 'stem' and 'pollen'. Children move on to share what they know and what bees do with the pollen.

Achievement: Strong standard

Children make consistently rapid progress in development across all areas of their learning. Babies learn to manage tasks for themselves, such as feeding, as early as they are capable. They develop a love of books and enjoy snuggling in with staff to share stories and help to pull tabs and turn the pages. They enjoy singing and begin to move their bodies and sing to the words in familiar songs.

Outdoors, toddlers use crates with ramps to practise coordination and balance. Staff include opportunities for children to follow their instructions and learn the sequence to climb the crate and walk carefully down the ramp using tiny steps. During this game, children organise turn-taking and know when it is safe for their turn. Through repeated practice, children begin to manage this task independently. This helps children who need to focus on listening and understanding instructions to be involved in learning that interests them.

Pre-school children show confidence and are eager to include staff in their games. Children play cooperatively together and show respect as they listen to each other's suggestions. For example, when they build a tower, they show positive attitudes to learning and become inspired, using their imaginations and excitedly sharing their thoughts and ideas. Children successfully develop the skills and understanding that are beyond typical to prepare them for the next stages of their learning and the eventual move on to school.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

There is an embedded culture of respect in the nursery. Staff model respectful behaviours with each other and with children. All children, including young babies, learn when to use their good manners. Over time, support from staff is highly effective in helping children begin to understand their emotions and recognise the emotions of others. Children play cooperatively together, and staff use supportive strategies that help to resolve minor disagreements swiftly. Children receive regular and timely praise, with beaming smiles from staff, for their positive behaviours. This helps them to understand the behaviour that is expected of them and raises their levels of self-esteem.

Routines throughout the nursery are organised, adapted and embedded consistently to meet the needs of all children, considering their varied starting points. This supports children's wellbeing, in particular to help them to know what is happening now and what is coming next. Staff's teaching during routine tasks is highly impactful. This contributes to reducing frustrations and incidences of unwanted behaviours. For example, children calmly carry out tasks for themselves, such as handwashing, dressing and managing their personal care. As a result, children develop positive attitudes to learning and show high levels of confidence in their abilities.

Leaders ensure flexibility in the setting to enable children to attend regularly and to ensure that families receive the support they need. This helps all children, including those in need of support for their wellbeing and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, to make the most of their time in the setting.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard

Staff build close relationships with children and use their knowledge of their likes, dislikes and varied needs to tailor their teaching for each child during play experiences. Babies use their senses to explore and experience some musical resources. Staff use an effective pace and tone to introduce new items. For example, they help children hold a beanbag and demonstrate how it will squeak when they squeeze it. Children and staff gasp and giggle at the sound. Babies are eager to explore these for themselves.

Staff are kind and nurturing towards children. This helps all children, including those who are new to the setting, to feel reassured and settle in quickly. The arrangements for children's transition between rooms are tailored for each child. This ensures that their care and learning are seamless while they build their relationships with new key persons.

Staff use effective methods to promote healthy routines, for example through discussions about the healthy foods during mealtimes. They provide consistently regular opportunities for children to be active, develop their physical skills and understand how to keep themselves safe. They talk with children about other routines, such as handwashing and brushing their teeth. This contributes to children's understanding of how to live a healthy lifestyle.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Leaders make informed decisions about the running of the setting and what they provide that are in the best interests of all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face other barriers to their learning and wellbeing.

Leaders ensure that all staff receive the training, support and guidance they need to fulfil their roles as effectively as possible. They have embedded a strengthened induction process for new staff, which has helped ensure a strong and cohesive staff team. Leaders are committed to developing staff to enable them to continue to build on their knowledge and skills. Mandatory training, such as for first aid and safeguarding, is kept updated to ensure their knowledge is current. Staff access other appropriate training and guidance and take ownership of their learning.

Leaders evaluate the provision for children effectively and include parents' views in this evaluation. Leaders have recently developed new strategies, such as workshops, for working with parents. However, they have not yet thought about ways that they can use these workshops to share more information with parents about the developmental stages that children go through.