The Spinney Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Overall, children are happy and have positive relationships with the staff that care for them. They benefit from a varied curriculum and a range of engaging activities. However, this is not consistent across the nursery. Mostly, children demonstrate positive attitudes towards their learning and enjoy the experiences on offer. For instance, they enjoy exploring the outdoor area and learning about nature as they play. Children learn about the natural environment and demonstrate their knowledge as they confidently identify plants and insects. However, there are some times when leaders do not ensure the curriculum is sequenced. For example, staff do not consistently plan opportunities to help younger children develop their physical skills. This hinders children's progress.

The provider does not fulfil all of its roles and responsibilities. Staff do not receive effective supervision arrangements or feedback to help improve the quality of their practice. Furthermore, leaders do not always ensure that staff use their assessments effectively to identify any gaps in children's learning and development. This means that parents and carers and staff do not always know what children need to learn next. The organisation of routines is not planned to promote children's independence. There are times when staff do not meet children's needs, especially around sleeping and mealtimes. This causes children to become upset and unsettled.

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

• Staff state that they enjoy their work and receive appropriate help to complete their roles. However, recent arrangements for staff supervision sessions are not effective. Staff do not receive coaching to help improve their practice. The provider has not implemented arrangements to strengthen staff's practice in order to further improve outcomes for all children. The lack of coaching and consistent support means that some staff do not receive support to improve their practice and the quality of their interactions. This means that some staff lack confidence when completing their roles.
• At times, the assessment of children's learning and development is not effective. Staff do not precisely identify children's next steps in learning. This means that some planned activities do not help children to develop the skills they need to learn next. Additionally, staff do not routinely complete the required progress check when children are aged between two and three years. Most parents do not receive clear guidance on how to help their children learn at home. The planned curriculum and support for parents do not consistently prepare children for the next stage in their learning.
• Staff do not consistently respond sensitively to each child's emerging needs. Some routines do not help children to feel secure. For example, following lunchtime, when staff put children to sleep, the interactions between staff and children are rushed. At this time, staff do not consistently respond positively to children. This results in a noisy and overwhelming environment, and some children become upset and unsettled.
• The provider does not consistently create an environment that supports the intent of a sequenced curriculum. For example, younger children have limited opportunities to independently develop their gross motor skills and core strength. Children who are not yet walking do not routinely have opportunities to pull themselves up to a standing position, crawl confidently or sit in suitable chairs to help develop their coordination. This means that some children do not consistently develop the physical skills that are appropriate to their age and stage of development.
• Children benefit from daily experiences of playing outdoors in the fresh air. They collect pine cones and acorns to use in their play. Staff help children to learn about the natural environment and how to keep themselves safe in regular forest school sessions. This helps children to develop their understanding of the world and supports their emotional development.
• Staff provide books for children to access independently. Children look at the pictures in books and older children turn pages confidently. They talk about the pictures and explain the emotions of the characters. Staff support this learning further by reading stories to children and pointing out what they can see in the books. Staff support children to develop an enjoyment of reading to benefit their literacy skills.