Tynemouth Nursery at Billy Mill

Inclusion: Strong standard

Leaders are highly proactive in identifying and assessing the individual needs of children and families who attend the nursery, including those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) or are known, or previously known, to social care.

Leaders are relentless in ensuring that children and families with vulnerabilities are provided with the maximum support available. This ensures that children are safeguarded and any barriers to their learning and progress are effectively reduced. This includes active liaison with external agencies, such as health visitors, children's social services and health care professionals. Leaders also make excellent use of resources available through the local authority to ensure they access the most up-to-date information regarding support strategies for children with SEND. Leaders ensure a wealth of training is available to staff, ensuring that individualised learning plans for children are delivered effectively. This includes successfully completing specialist training.

Leaders carefully track the progress of all children, including those with additional barriers to their learning. Staff who work with these children are supported to understand how to break down targets into small, manageable steps. They understand how to deliver their teaching effectively to ensure that children progress through the curriculum. Staff know their key children very well and understand how to implement specific strategies as required. Additional funding is used appropriately, with careful consideration of the individual context and needs of each child. The use of this funding has a notable impact on the children for whom it is intended. For instance, they benefit from additional outings and experiences that they may not otherwise have access to. This greatly supports their overall development and sense of belonging in community situations.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Leaders actively evaluate the quality of the curriculum and typically identify areas where further development is needed. The curriculum design is effective in ensuring that children make progress across all areas of learning. Staff provide a wide range of exciting activities to stimulate children's interest. As a result, children have the opportunity to practise key skills regularly.

Staff understand children's interests and gaps in learning and tailor their teaching to ensure these needs are met. A focus on personal, social and emotional development helps children to feel safe and secure. For instance, babies are given warm cuddles when they are unsettled. Songs, rhymes and stories are used effectively to support children's communication, language and love of books. Children excitedly join in with the words and actions to favourite songs.

There is a focus on physical development in response to leaders' identification of the higher-than-average obesity rate in the area. This includes bringing in external professionals to provide physical education sessions and ensuring that children are offered a wide range of fruit and vegetables. Children thoroughly enjoy practising their physical skills in the outdoor area, and they participate in focused sessions with high levels of engagement. Staff explicitly teach mathematics, such as focusing on counting fingers carefully when singing number songs. The curriculum also reflects the diversity of the children who attend, for example, learning about festivals that are pertinent to children's cultures.

At times, teaching is not consistently tailored to the individual stages of children's development and there is variation in the quality of interactions. Some skills and concepts are introduced before children are ready for them.

Achievement: Expected standard

Children progress well across all areas of learning and develop a range of knowledge and skills to help prepare them for their next stage of learning, including school. For instance, children develop important independence skills, such as self-care routines, dressing for outdoors and lining up when asked. Children are keen to take part in singing sessions and demonstrate their knowledge and enthusiasm when singing a range of key nursery rhymes.

Children with barriers to their learning also progress well from their starting points because they receive the necessary support to ensure their ongoing development, in line with their identified next steps.

Some limitations around sequencing of the curriculum do not consistently give children the best preparation for the transition to school. For instance, introducing letter formation in pre-school occurs before children have the necessary developmental skills for this.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Leaders actively promote attendance and punctuality, which has a positive impact on how well children settle into the nursery and the progress they make in their development. Practitioners model kindness and respect for each other and teach children skills such as sharing and turn-taking. Children are receptive and demonstrate these skills in their independent play.

Leaders generally have high expectations for children's behaviour across the nursery, and staff typically promote positive behaviour. Children show positive behaviours and play together harmoniously. However, there is some variation in how staff support children to understand the behavioural expectations. For instance, at times, staff use the single word 'wait' along with a hand signal without any further explanation when children are keen to take more pieces of fruit at snack time. Children are not helped to understand why they need to wait, which is confusing for them, particularly when they are hungry and are keen to eat more snack.

Staff plan exciting and engaging activities to support children in all areas of their learning. However, they do not consistently support children in developing age-appropriate learning behaviours, such as how to focus their attention on a set task. Children's individual needs are well considered, and staff understand these well. Praise is used to reinforce positive behaviour, and children have trusting relationships with their key staff and other children.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

There is a positive and inclusive attitude to ensuring that children's welfare and wellbeing are promoted, including for children who have barriers to their learning. Leaders have implemented policies and practice to support children's welfare and wellbeing and, generally, these are effective. For instance, children develop self-care skills, such as handwashing before mealtimes. Children sit around tables together at mealtimes, which encourages manners and social skills. Staff closely supervise mealtimes to ensure children's safety. Staff support children's emotional wellbeing and provide cuddles and reassurance when needed. Staff work closely with families to support children to begin toilet training, ensuring a positive and supportive process for children.

However, there is some inconsistent practice around snack and mealtimes. For example, the transitional routines around mealtimes can be overly long and, at times, children become unsettled while waiting for their food.

Physical health is promoted well in the nursery. Curriculum enhancements, including specialist physical education sessions, give children the opportunity to develop their physical skills, stamina and a positive attitude to self-care and exercise. Children also benefit from a range of healthy foods, including a range of fruit to choose from at snack time.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Leaders have an understanding of the nursery's context, and they use this knowledge to make appropriate plans for further improvement of the provision as a whole and for staff development and training. Leaders provide staff with opportunities to develop their knowledge and skills, and staff are supported to implement improvements where these have been identified. Leaders are particularly mindful to support the wellbeing of staff, who report that they feel valued and their workload is manageable.

Leaders are proactive in accessing further training and support from external agencies, including the local authority early years team. This is particularly beneficial in accessing support for children and families who have vulnerabilities and who need additional support to help them thrive. Partnerships with parents and carers are a strength, and parents provide positive feedback regarding the impact the nursery has on their children's development. Parents also report that staff are very supportive and approachable.

Although leaders support staff well and source training for their ongoing professional development, this is not always matched precisely to priorities for improvement to ensure consistent, high-quality practice that promotes the best learning outcomes for all children.