Tiny Robins Day Nursery

Inclusion: Strong standard

Leaders are passionate about making a difference to the lives of all children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those previously known to children's social care. They have established a very inclusive culture, where children's individual needs are quickly identified and extremely well supported. Leaders support staff to use their robust assessments to enable early identification of children who may need additional support.

Leaders and staff work very collaboratively with parents and other professionals to ensure children with SEND make rapid progress from their starting points. For example, non-verbal children are confident in communicating their needs and thoughts through the use of signs and symbols. Other children are proficient in using non-verbal communication strategies to ensure peer relationships are building successfully. Children with SEND are incredibly well supported, and staff put a variety of plans in place to support their needs. They go above and beyond what is expected of them to ensure all children get the support they need.

Leaders demonstrate a secure understanding of how they use early years pupil premium and additional funding strategically, to support eligible children. Leaders prioritise staff's ongoing training to ensure they have the knowledge and skills to implement a graduated approach to meeting children's needs. They use training effectively to support staff to understand how they can remove barriers so all children can access the curriculum.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Leaders and staff carefully implement a well-planned curriculum that supports learning across all areas of learning. They understand what children can already do and use their assessments of children's abilities to focus precisely on what children need to learn next. Staff plan activities that meet the needs of all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those previously known to children's social care. They adapt these activities to ensure all children are included. For example, they use a variety of strategies, including sign language, to ensure all children are able to enjoy stories and singing.

Overall, teaching is effective as staff understand how children learn. They plan a wide range of activities to support children's learning as well as facilitating child-led play. For example, young children delight in mixing paint together and follow their interest in making new colours. Older children learn how to play co-operatively during imaginative play as they make food in the role-play kitchen. However, at times staff do not use their interactions to fully extend children's learning and achievement.

Children have daily opportunities to develop their physical skills outside as they climb, run and balance. They develop their smaller muscles as they draw pictures of the characters from their favourite stories. Staff model clear language to babies and toddlers, speaking slowly and calmly and introducing new words to develop vocabulary. Older children have conversations about familiar stories.

Achievement: Expected standard

Generally children make appropriate progress and acquire age- and stage-appropriate skills across all areas of learning and development. This helps them be ready for future learning when they move rooms within nursery or start school. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities or previously known to social care receive appropriate support as staff work collaboratively with other professionals.

Children learn to communicate confidently and use new vocabulary. Babies smile and babble assuredly, while young toddlers using single words with ease. Older children learn to listen and have the ability to share their own thoughts and opinions. Children join in with familiar songs and stories. They learn to move their bodies in different ways as they copy actions to songs and dance to music.

Children are very independent. For example, babies and young children choose what they would like to play with and learn to feed themselves. Older children enjoy helping to set the table at mealtimes, serve themselves with food and pour their own drinks.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

Leaders and staff effectively support children to have positive attitudes to learning. They have created a very respectful and supportive culture where children show they are ready to learn which encourages positive attitudes to life-long learning. Staff consistently manage children's behaviour very effectively. They use a variety of different strategies and techniques to support children to manage how they feel. Staff adapt the techniques they use considering children's different needs, ages and stages of development. Children learn to understand and manage their feelings and regulate their behaviours and responses. Staff skilfully use visual aids to enable all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and those known to social care, to share how they feel. For example, staff in all rooms consistently model signs and symbols to support children to communicate their feelings to other children.

Leaders are positive role models themselves and model positive attitudes to staff. This incredibly positive ethos cascades to children through the abundance of praise and encouragement they hear throughout the day. This leads to children feeling confident to try new learning and successfully builds their self-esteem. As a result, children have positive attitudes towards learning, are keen to try new things and persevere when learning new skills. Leaders monitor children's attendance, and work collaboratively with parents to help them understand the importance of attendance.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard

Children are very well-cared for and their individual needs are consistently met. For example, staff sensitively, calmly and patiently ask each child for consent before changing their nappy. Children show that they feel safe and secure at the nursery as they are confident to explore new learning. Staff know each child and their family incredibly well and respond quickly and thoughtfully to meet their needs. Staff ensure children are always safe as they follow robust procedures. For example, staff supervise children well as they check pathways to make sure they are not slippery after rain.

Leaders have created a very inclusive environment where every child's welfare matters and is thoughtfully addressed. Staff use the close bonds they have with all children to provide reassurance. For example, they notice when babies start to become upset and immediately provide cuddles and close physical contact to prevent them from becoming distressed. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive sensitive, consistent care that ensures they feel fully included.

Leaders have implemented robust procedures for ensuring children's allergies and dietary requirements are known by all staff. They train all staff in paediatric first aid to further safeguard children. The nursery provides healthy and nutritious meals which children enjoy and talk about how the vegetables keep their bodies healthy. Children confidently help set the table for lunch and then serve themselves, developing their independence skills very well.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Leaders provide children with high-quality care and education and have an ambitious vision for the nursery. The curriculum is well sequenced and identifies the skills children should learn at different stages of their development.

Staff generally use their interactions with children to meet their individual needs and enhance their learning. Regular stories and singing nursery rhymes extends children's communication and language skills. Children including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who are previously known to social care learn new words and confidently use signs to communicate with non-verbal children. Leaders should continue to embed staff's knowledge and understanding of the curriculum and providing high-quality interactions, to enhance children's learning. Staff work well as a team and feel their well being is carefully considered by leaders.

Staff provide regular opportunities for children to develop their physical skills outside and plan specific activities to support children to learn social skills. Staff plan activities to teach children how to work together and to take turns.

Overall, parents are happy with the communication and information they receive about their child's daily routines. However, leaders and managers have not ensured that parents understand precisely what their children need to learn next. Parents understand the activities staff plan in each room but not how these activities will support their child's learning. Consequently, they are not able to replicate these accurately at home to continue children's learning and development.