Thorne Manor Day Nursery

Inclusion: Expected standard

Leaders and staff understand their roles and responsibilities to offer tailored support to meet all children's emerging and changing needs. They work closely with parents to identify any barriers to learning and put effective support strategies in place to help children make progress in their development.

Leaders and staff have received relevant training to help them use assessments of children to identify emerging needs promptly, including special educational needs and/or disabilities. Leaders and staff provide timely interventions that support children's development and help close any gaps in children's learning. They work closely with parents and other professionals to plan how to help children at the nursery and at home. For example, staff teach parents some signing, which promotes children's communication development. Leaders monitor and review the impact of support plans with staff and parents, to make the necessary adaptations that benefit children. On occasion, when children's key persons are absent, children who require extra help do not receive the same level of support from other staff to engage them in their play and chosen activities. For short periods, these children watch other children with interest but do not receive the help from staff to enable them to join in.

Leaders and staff work together to decide how best to use additional funding to target children's individual needs. For example, to help children settle into their new room, staff consider their interests in imaginative play and subsequently purchase additional role-play resources. This supports the children to settle in quickly and to play alongside and with others.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Leaders and staff provide a broad and balanced curriculum, prioritising the fundamental skills. Staff offer a wide range of experiences that reflect children's interests and encourage them to explore and be curious. Leaders and staff plan and implement support for children's mathematical development, although the teaching in this area is inconsistent. Staff sing counting-based nursery rhymes with pre-school children. However, they do not consistently build on mathematical concepts to give children a secure understanding.

Staff use their assessments of children's progress to identify appropriate next steps for children. They adapt their teaching and the strategies they use to provide more tailored support to help close any gaps in children's learning.

Staff support children's communication and language development well overall. They model a broad vocabulary, such narrating babies' play using words such as 'scoop', 'pour' and 'squeeze'. Staff working with pre-school children provide support and encouragement for the children to share and discuss their thoughts and ideas.

Leaders reflect accurately on children's experiences and have ambitious plans to enhance the provision for children. For example, leaders have identified that there is scope to provide more opportunities for pre-school children's physical development, so are making plans to enhance the outdoor space.

Achievement: Expected standard

All children make progress and learn the skills and knowledge to support their later learning, including their move on to school. Children play imaginatively and express their ideas confidently to friends and staff. For instance, in the forest school, they pretend to make mud cakes and announce that these will require 13 minutes in the oven, and they whisper excitedly that they can hear fairies.

Children show positive attitudes to have a go and resilience to keep trying. They gain increasing independence in their self-care routines. For example, pre-school children put on their coats and hang them on their pegs after use.

Children communicate confidently. Two-year-old children eat contentedly but quietly during mealtimes. Staff do not always encourage them to develop their social and interaction skills. Children join in with singing enthusiastically and noisily. They are confident to make choices in group activities, such as what song to sing next. Babies become curious about, and show an interest in, other children. They babble and grin at each other through the window of the playhouse.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Staff offer a gradual, flexible settling-in period that meets each child's individual needs. Staff are sensitive and recognise the importance of giving children time to feel comfortable and secure. All children, including new children, feel settled and enjoy their time at the nursery. Children quickly form strong bonds with the warm and friendly staff team.

Children behave well. They share, take turns and, with support from staff, help each other. For instance, when children struggle to carry heavy or large items, staff suggest their friends help, which they do eagerly. Children follow the routines with confidence and listen to the instructions given by staff. Staff are clear about the need to tailor their strategies and the support they provide to children, to help them understand the expectations for their behaviour. However, some children receive less support from staff to develop their social skills during mealtimes.

Staff ensure that all children are included and valued. Children are keen to take part and join in with activities and develop a positive attitude to learning.

Leaders promote the importance of regular attendance, and as a result, children attend consistently, which supports their early education.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Children develop a sense of belonging at the nursery because of their close relationships with the staff team and the well-established routines. Staff interact with children in a supportive and respectful manner and provide nurturing care. Their approach helps children to feel safe and secure and reassured that their individual needs will be met. This creates a positive environment where children feel ready to learn.

Staff teach children how to keep themselves healthy and safe, for example by introducing routine teeth brushing. They invite other professionals to help children understand the importance of oral health. Children have plenty of opportunities to be physically active in the fresh air in the large outdoor areas. Staff promote a healthy and balanced diet. Generally, snack times and mealtimes are sociable occasions, although staff provide less support for the 2-year-old children to speak with each other while they sit and eat together.

Children develop their independence, such as putting on their coats, hanging their belongings on their pegs and washing their hands before eating.

Staff teach the 2-year-old children to recognise and manage their feelings. They use a mirror to look at their face and expression and then talk about which emotion this represents. This helps to strengthen their social and emotional development, which staff build on as the children progress through the setting.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Leaders demonstrate a clear commitment to providing high-quality education and care. Since the last inspection, they have worked hard to make changes to the nursery's processes, to ensure they work closely with other professionals to keep children safe. Leaders have an accurate understanding of the setting's strengths and weaknesses. They recognise the areas they would like to develop further and they put the individual needs of children at the heart of their decision-making. For example, they recognise how to use additional funding to target individual children's needs and proactively apply for additional funding to help them provide necessary adaptations for children. Some minor weaknesses in the teaching of mathematics and communication and language, and in the key-person arrangements, impact the consistency of the quality of education for children.

Leaders place importance on giving new and inexperienced staff time to understand their responsibilities and develop their skills. Leaders provide effective support and coaching for staff for their professional development. For example, they plan to support new staff with behaviour management strategies, to develop their confidence and skills and to promote consistency across staff's practice. Staff feel they are valued and supported in their work by leaders and comment on the high morale.

Leaders and staff work hard to develop secure partnerships with parents and share relevant information with other settings and professionals. Staff provide guidance to parents, ensuring that the nursery and home provide consistency for children.