Toybox Great Denham

Inclusion: Expected standard

Leaders are highly knowledgeable and use discussions with parents to support early identification of children's specific needs. Staff monitor children's progress closely, and individual support plans are implemented swiftly. Leaders work hard, using consultation with other professionals to put appropriate plans in place to help children make progress. As a result, all children's needs and abilities to communicate are generally well supported. Typically, staff use expected support strategies effectively. For instance, they use simple signing to support children who struggle to communicate verbally. This is not yet consistently embedded across the nursery and does not fully support children to excel rapidly in their communication.

Additional funding that the setting receives to support children who face barriers to their learning is used effectively and is closely aligned with children's targets. Key persons have a robust knowledge of what children are working on, in line with any support plans in place. They accurately assess and identify any changes in children's abilities. This information is not always communicated effectively with the wider staff team. This leads to some interactions with children not being as focused and effective in supporting them to reach their targets rapidly. Despite this, all children make positive strides in their development.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

The ambitious and inclusive curriculum focuses on building all children's skills consecutively. This is generally understood and delivered purposefully by the dedicated staff team and knowledgeable, established leaders. Specialist support plans are typically delivered well and provide robust monitoring for children who face barriers to their learning. The large staff team is varied in experience, knowledge and confidence. This means that, occasionally, children do not benefit from consistent strategies to support them and that staff's interactions are not yet at a continuously high standard.

A love of books and reading supports children's communication skills. Younger children make animal noises to match the pictures they see. Staff read stories enthusiastically to pre-school children, and they listen intently. Staff bring the stories to life, and children delight in joining in with familiar phrases instinctively.

There is a focus on building children's enjoyment of learning, and staff recognise that children need to feel secure to thrive. Leaders and more experienced staff model how to support babies to move around the room purposefully. Staff respond to younger children's interests and help them to explore the effects of their actions as they make footprints with their shoes in puddles of water. Staff hold discussions with children as they pretend to make cakes with dough together. For instance, they discuss the different-sized cutters to promote children's mathematical understanding.

Achievement: Expected standard

Children become independent in managing tasks for themselves, putting their coats on proudly as they run to explore the welcoming garden areas. Children learn to communicate effectively and enjoy holding discussions with their friends and the staff around them. They confidently speak to visiting adults, showing them around the room and showing their favourite toys enthusiastically.

Children develop friendships and the ability to resolve low-level conflicts independently. Babies interact with others, curiously exploring their friends' faces with support and gentle encouragement from staff. The oldest children resolve small conflicts between their friends when they need help to share. Children of all ages show high levels of concentration and engagement. All children generally achieve well and are ready for school. They do not always develop a secure breadth and depth in their knowledge due to some variations in the quality of staff interactions.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Children build warm and trusting relationships with staff. Babies learn to treat each other with kindness and respect. This leads through to pre-school children supporting their friends with sharing without the need for adult support. Children recognise that some friends face barriers to their learning, and they are keen to include everyone in their play. Staff enable this well and encourage other children to join small groups to build the interaction skills of children who struggle with this. Staff encourage children to persevere as they gain new skills, providing praise and encouragement to keep them motivated. Children are clearly proud when they master a new skill.

Routines are established across the nursery, and leaders work hard to ensure that parents understand the importance of their children attending on time and regularly. Leaders have highly effective oversight of the nursery and are alert to any possible barriers to children attending. They generally put appropriate arrangements in place swiftly to help children make the most of their time at nursery. Expectations across the nursery are high, and staff generally help children to understand the rules in place and why it is important to follow them. Staff help children to name their feelings and model how to interact with others positively.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Children develop a sense of belonging at the nursery, happy to see the staff and their friends when they arrive. The meaningful bonds that children form with staff enable them to feel secure and settled, and children clearly enjoy their time at the nursery.

Leaders are reflective and swiftly review policies and processes as the need arises. This prioritises children's welfare and wellbeing. They generally consider children's individual needs, putting in place appropriate support to enable all children to succeed at the nursery and make progress from when they first start.

Staff promote children's understanding of keeping themselves safe. Older children learn to take risks for themselves, carefully balancing around an obstacle course independently. Younger children receive prompt reminders about how to use cutlery safely, and staff explain the reason for this in a way they will understand.

Staff model respectful relationships with all children. They encourage children to support those who face barriers to their learning by joining them in play and small-group activities. Children support and encourage one another, taking them by the hand and leading them around the garden to find the next activity. The constant, positive modelling of kindness by staff creates a happy and harmonious environment across the nursery.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

The well-established leadership team is highly reflective and passionate about the nursery provision. There is a real focus on providing the best-quality care and provision for all children, especially those who face barriers to their learning or have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Leaders act as positive role models to the staff team, sharing their knowledge and experience frequently. They are approachable, and staff feel very well supported in their roles. They keep children at the heart of the decisions they make, regularly reviewing room layouts and staffing arrangements. There is a supportive structure within the leadership team, and this helps everyone to feel valued.

Relationships with other professional agencies are well established. There is a clear transition process to support children moving on to school, focusing on crucial information-sharing with school staff. Parental engagement is high, with parents feeling valued as contributors to their children's learning.

Leaders have a clear vision for the nursery and are ambitious, with high expectations for all children to achieve well. They recognise that staff are not yet at a consistently high standard. Staff receive a range of professional development opportunities. They would benefit from more focused professional development so they can provide highly effective support for individual children. This will help all children make even more rapid progress and enable staff to embed consistent strategies across the nursery.