Victoria House Neighbourhood Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive at this welcoming nursery happy and keen to be with their friends. They develop confidence and learn to listen and follow instructions. Children are kind to each other. For example, a child asks, 'Can you help me?' and another child replies, 'I will be happy to.' Children learn to be independent. In the baby room, babies learn to recognise and select their own shoes. Two-year-old children learn to put on their coats, and older children start to manage their own personal care. All children are confident to lead their own play and learning.

Children develop a love of books. They choose from a broad range of literature that they enjoy by themselves or with a chosen friend. Children listen to staff as they enthusiastically read stories to them. Children have plenty of opportunities to spend time outdoors. They enjoy using climbing apparatus, riding on wheeled toys and kicking and rolling balls. Children benefit from a wide selection of activities and experiences that are provided by the dedicated staff, both indoors and outdoors. Children become engaged in their chosen activities for long periods of time, and they develop a positive attitude towards learning. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported to reach their full potential.

What does the early years setting do well and what does it need to do better?

• The dedicated manager and the enthusiastic staff team have made a significant improvement since the last inspection and have addressed the actions raised. For example, an effective key-person system is now in place to ensure that the care and learning needs of each individual child is met. There has been a strong focus on staff training and supervision. However, development opportunities for less-experienced staff to help enhance their interactions with children are not yet fully embedded.
• The manager uses additional funding to meet children's learning needs. For instance, she identifies and purchases resources to meet the specific needs of the children for whom the funding is intended.
• The manager monitors staff performance. She observes the quality of staff teaching and provides feedback where she identifies any areas for improvement. She puts any necessary training in place to support staff to help them to consistently provide high-quality teaching.
• The manager monitors children's learning to help her identify any gaps in children's learning. Support for children with SEND is strong. The SEND coordinator works closely with staff and in collaboration with other professionals to ensure that the right support is in place to help these children make the progress they are capable of.
• Staff know the children well. They make regular observations and assessments of children as they play. They use this information to plan challenging and enjoyable activities that are based on children's individual learning needs and interests. Consequently, children make good progress.
• Children in the baby room use their imagination well as they join in role play. They re-enact experiences familiar to them, such as pretending to make tea and cakes. Staff extend children's play as they introduce new vocabulary such as 'mix' and 'stir'. Throughout the nursery, children enjoy singing songs and joining in action songs. Staff ask children probing questions to encourage them to think and use their developing language to reply. However, staff do not always make the most of opportunities to strengthen the speaking, listening and understanding skills of children who speak English as an additional language.
• Throughout the nursery, children learn to count and recognise numbers and shapes. Staff provide children with opportunities to develop their small-muscle skills, in readiness for early writing. Throughout the nursery, children use a variety of media to make marks. Children learn to recognise and write letters of their names.
• Staff manage children's behaviour well. They are good role models who support children to use good manners, share and take turns.
• Parents are highly complimentary about the nursery, saying their children look forward to attending. Parents talk about the progress their children have made since starting at the nursery, particularly with their speech and social skills. They say the staff share a lot of information about their children's progress with them. Staff give parents ideas of activities they can do with their children at home to further support their ongoing learning. Parents say the staff are kind, caring and friendly.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• build on the support and guidance provided to less-experienced staff and help them to raise their quality of interactions with children during their play
• support staff to enhance the speaking, listening and understanding skills of children who speak English as an additional language further.