Verwood Day Nursery Ltd

Inclusion: Expected standard

Leaders and staff make careful adaptations to ensure that they support every child. For example, staff adjust time spent sitting at tables for lunch according to children's ages and stages. Staff receive specialist training to use new techniques, such as sign language, to support children's communication needs.

Leaders are passionate about ensuring that all children have fair access to all opportunities. They work hard to reduce barriers, such as working with families to support with access so that children can attend the setting regularly. Leaders are proactive in arranging support from external partners. They work closely with families to ensure that all children make good progress.

Staff identify children's needs and act on them quickly, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those in receipt of funding. Staff adapt the provision to enable all children to achieve. Leaders have secure knowledge and skills and make suitable use of specific funding to ensure a personalised impact for the children. They regularly monitor this impact. Children who are disadvantaged also receive well-tailored support to ensure their progress.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Leaders have a clear vision for their curriculum and develop engaging learning opportunities that are closely linked to children's interests. Staff adapt their teaching appropriately for disadvantaged children and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Leaders and staff focus on children's physical development, and children show a positive attitude to being active outdoors. For example, staff challenge children to throw balls steadily higher in the air, which they respond to with delight. Staff carefully consider the order in which children learn these skills to continually hone their physical development. For example, toddlers use spoons to scoop ice and then older children use syringes to move water onto their ice.

Staff support children to develop a love of books, and they prioritise children's language development. This means that children quickly develop their communication skills. Staff engage in meaningful conversation with children. They use open questions skilfully and repeat sentences back to children to support their developing language. Staff weave mathematical work through the curriculum to help prepare children for later learning in school.

Staff provide a broad and varied curriculum. However, some staff do not use assessment well enough to ensure they fully understand what their key children already know and can do. This means that they do not always plan experiences with a deliberate focus on what children need to learn next to ensure children make the best possible progress.

Achievement: Expected standard

Children develop well and show motivation to learn. They confidently share their thoughts and ideas with others and explore the setting confidently. Children communicate their pride to staff when they manage something, and they learn to keep trying, developing resilience and perseverance. Children behave well and show consideration for others. For example, they follow the rules and expectations of the setting.

Children enjoy using their mathematical knowledge, such as checking how many more carrots they need at lunchtime. They use the language of capacity when exploring containers, and babies develop understanding through shape matching.

All children make good progress from their starting points, including those who are disadvantaged or those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Children grow in confidence and curiosity, build friendships with their peers and strong bonds with staff. Children show confidence in their skills and abilities, preparing them well for the next steps in the educational journey, including school.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Children demonstrate a genuine care for each other, for example, by passing toys to other children when they are upset. Leaders develop a positive environment in which incidents of poor behaviour are uncommon and are typically swiftly addressed by staff. Leaders work to promote good attendance and have developed positive relationships with families to support this.

Staff model kindness throughout the setting, and children copy this by being kind to each other in their play. Staff demonstrate warm and nurturing relationships with the children, and they typically know the children well. Staff often adapt the way in which they work with children to suitably match their age and stage of development in interactions. For example, they change the vocabulary that they use to ensure children can understand.

Children and staff work together to tidy their rooms, developing a shared responsibility for their space. Staff encourage the children to work together, such as when completing a challenge. They share the need to work as a team to succeed. They skilfully support the children to grow in independence during their time in the setting. For example, they receive help to spread their own cream cheese at snack time in the toddler room before moving on to confidently do it themselves in pre-school.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Children settle well. Staff carefully gather information about children's routines during settling-in sessions. They follow these closely to ensure consistent attention to care needs. Children sleep well in calm, quiet rooms with staff who support them in settling down well.

The staff's purposeful nurturing of sibling links across the setting creates a family atmosphere. New babies form quick bonds and are secure with their care givers. They seek comfort from their key person and other staff, when needed. Babies happily explore the setting from their key person, who acts as a safe base.

Leaders and staff embed suitable hygiene protocols and promote children's self-care effectively. For example, staff encourage children to blow their own noses. Staff plan activities that help children to identify their emotions, which helps children to understand their feelings. For example, staff use colour characters to prompt discussion about how different emotions feel in the body.

Staff actively engage children in conversations about keeping themselves fit and well. For example, children learn to enjoy a healthy, balanced diet. Mealtimes are a social occasion, helping children to develop good manners and learn social skills. Staff teach children to learn how to keep themselves safe. For example, children undertake the role of 'daily risk detective', showing an awareness of safety rules.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Leaders have a clear knowledge of their setting's context. They work positively with families and other agencies to support all children, which ensures that they can all make progress. Leaders' focused work in this area ensures that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are promptly identified and supported. Leaders ensure that potential barriers to learning are reduced.

Staff's wellbeing is skilfully supported, which enables them to develop strong relationships with children within a caring atmosphere. Wider leadership have oversight of the setting and proactively identify areas for improvement. They strive for continual development and provide staff with regular opportunities to access training to further develop their skills. However, leaders do not consistently check that staff understand the training they have attended or monitor the impact on the quality of teaching. For example, despite recent training, not all staff take suitable action when children struggle to manage their emotions.

Leaders act consistently in the best interests of children to develop the provision. For example, they have future plans to make use of further garden areas. This will enable the children to explore an increasingly diverse range of outdoor environments.