Waterways Nursery and After School Club

Inclusion: Strong standard

Leaders and staff create an exceptionally inclusive environment where every child is valued, respected and supported to achieve their full potential. They work closely with parents and other professionals to identify and reduce barriers to learning, ensuring all children make strong progress from their starting points. Partnerships with families are highly effective and contribute significantly to children's ongoing development and achievements.

Robust systems are in place to accurately identify and assess children's individual needs. Leaders maintain strong oversight of children's progress and ensure staff monitor development closely so that swift and effective interventions are implemented at the earliest opportunity. As a result, children receive highly targeted support that successfully meets their individual needs. Staff place a strong emphasis on promoting children's communication and language skills. They use visual prompts, gestures and sign language effectively to help children understand routines, express themselves and communicate confidently. This support is strengthened further through close partnership working with parents. Staff teach families weekly signs and strategies that can be used consistently at home to reinforce children's learning and communication development.

Additional funding is used exceptionally well to enhance outcomes for children. Leaders carefully target resources to support communication and language development and provide individual support where needed. This ensures children receive the precise help they require to thrive in a highly supportive and inclusive environment.

Curriculum and teaching: Strong standard

Leaders implement an ambitious and well-sequenced curriculum that supports children's learning successfully across all areas of development. They maintain excellent oversight of the curriculum and ensure teaching consistently meets the needs and interests of all children. A strong emphasis is placed on children's personal, social and emotional development, helping them build confidence, resilience and positive relationships from an early age.

Staff plan rich and engaging outdoor learning experiences that promote children's physical development, curiosity and understanding of the world. Children enthusiastically take part in activities linked to growth and nature. Older children proudly talk about the strawberries and potatoes they have grown, while younger children show fascination as they water plants and observe changes over time. These meaningful experiences help children develop care, responsibility and early investigative skills.

Communication and language development are prioritised exceptionally well. Staff use strategies such as 'bucket time' sessions to encourage younger children to explore ideas, strengthen attention skills and develop their thinking. Staff skilfully extend children's vocabulary through conversations and play. Resources and activities stem from children's interests, including opportunities to build complex models and structures that promote creativity and mathematical understanding. Children confidently count, compare quantities, recognise shapes and solve simple problems during play.

Teaching is adapted highly effectively to meet children's individual needs. Staff use smaller group activities to provide targeted support and ensure all children remain fully engaged in learning. Assessment systems are used exceptionally well to identify gaps quickly and adapt teaching accordingly. Staff enthusiastically join in children's play experiences, including exploring the mud kitchen and acting out imaginative role-play scenarios, which further enrich children's learning and enjoyment.

Achievement: Strong standard

Children make excellent progress across all areas of learning from their individual starting points. They communicate confidently with adults and peers using an increasingly rich vocabulary during play and daily routines. Children show a strong enjoyment of books and eagerly participate in shared reading experiences. They demonstrate a keen interest in non-fiction texts about mini beasts and successfully apply what they learn as they explore, discuss and investigate insects and their habitats during play.

Children display high levels of independence throughout the day. At mealtimes, they confidently self-serve food and drinks, use utensils safely and help to tidy away. These experiences effectively promote their confidence, resilience and self-care skills, preparing them well for the next stage in their learning.

Children develop strong physical skills and benefit from rich opportunities to explore outdoors. They balance expertly, negotiate space safely and develop good coordination and control as they climb, ride and use a range of equipment with confidence.

Children demonstrate secure early mathematical understanding as they count, compare quantities and solve problems during play. They use blocks creatively to construct detailed and complex structures, showing high levels of concentration, perseverance and imagination in their learning.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

Dedicated and strong leaders create a highly inclusive and nurturing environment where children feel safe, secure and valued. Kind, patient and attentive staff build warm relationships with children and maintain high expectations for their achievements and behaviour. Children learn to form positive relationships, share, take turns and get along well with their peers. As a result, they behave well, show kindness and respect towards one another and demonstrate confidence throughout the setting.

Daily routines are exceptionally well organised and consistently followed, helping children know what to expect throughout the day. These well-established routines successfully promote children's emotional security and independence. Children confidently serve themselves at mealtimes, eat independently and take pride in caring for their environment by tidying away resources.

Key persons know children extremely well and provide highly effective support to help them recognise, manage and express their feelings appropriately. Staff use planned activities, discussions and visual resources to encourage children to talk about emotions, develop empathy and understand the feelings of others. The sensory room provides a calm and safe space where children regulate their emotions and receive additional support when needed.

Staff work extremely closely with parents to promote regular attendance, ensuring children benefit fully from the consistent experiences and rich learning opportunities provided.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard

Leaders place children's welfare and wellbeing at the centre of the provision and create a warm, caring environment where all children feel exceptionally secure, content and confident. Key people build close and trusting relationships with children and know their individual needs precisely. As a result, children form strong attachments, seek reassurance confidently and demonstrate high levels of emotional security and belonging.

Staff place a strong emphasis on helping children recognise, understand and manage their feelings and emotions. Through sensitive interactions, discussions and planned activities, children are supported to express themselves positively and develop resilience and confidence. This contributes to consistently positive outcomes for children's welfare and wellbeing.

Leaders are highly ambitious for all children and particularly for those with barriers to learning. Staff work closely with parents and external professionals to ensure children and families receive excellent levels of care, guidance and support that positively impacts on children's development and welfare.

Children benefit from excellent opportunities for physical development and outdoor play. They enjoy fresh air daily, including experiences within the highly stimulating forest school area, which successfully promotes physical skills, exploration and wellbeing. Nutritious meals and snacks support children's health effectively. High priority is also given to oral hygiene through supervised daily toothbrushing routines and ongoing support for parents to promote good oral health practices at home.

Leadership and governance: Strong standard

Leaders and managers demonstrate an ambitious vision for the setting and are highly committed to meeting the needs of the local community. They work exceptionally well with parents, external agencies and other professionals to remove barriers to learning and ensure all children receive consistently high-quality care and education. As a result, children make excellent progress from their starting points and are extremely well prepared for future learning.

Leaders implement highly effective systems for self-evaluation and continuously reflect on practice to identify areas for further improvement. This has led to significant developments in outdoor learning opportunities, providing children with rich experiences that promote curiosity, exploration and physical development. Leaders have clear and ambitious plans in place to further enhance the outdoor provision.

The experienced and established staff team provides children with consistency and security. Many staff have worked at the setting for a considerable length of time and speak highly of the strong support they receive from leaders. Staff wellbeing is prioritised effectively and leaders create a culture where staff feel respected, valued and motivated.

Professional development is given high priority. Staff access a wide range of training opportunities that strengthen their knowledge and teaching skills including training on the effective use of forest school experiences to inspire children's curiosity and exploration. Leaders are highly reflective following any incidents and take swift action to review and strengthen risk assessments, ensuring children's safety and welfare remain paramount at all times.