Westside Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Confidence, independence and well-being are at the heart of everything the nursery does. Older children spoke to the inspector about their nursery at every opportunity. Younger children confidently talked to the inspector about the shapes and colours they know. Children are well behaved and keen to engage with staff and other adults. This has a significant impact on their learning, safety and well-being. Children are confident, attentive and ready to learn.

Children are increasingly independent. Younger children learn to use cutlery well, and they scrape their plates at lunchtime. Older children proudly put their own coats and boots on to go outside. They automatically go to wash their hands after playing outside. They explain that this is necessary because 'you can't see germs'.

Staff foster warm, trusting relationships with children and their families. Children show they feel safe at the nursery. They turn readily to staff for reassurance or to talk about their needs and wishes. Babies snuggle comfortably with staff to share a book. Toddlers go happily to have their nappies changed. During well-planned small-group sessions, older children say that they would talk to their parents or staff if they were unhappy or hurt.

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

• The manager leads a well-qualified and stable staff team. Staff talk with passion about recent training and encouragement from management. They explain how this supports their work. They continually evaluate and revise what they do. For example, while children wait for their speech and language appointments, staff revise group time so children can practise their language skills. Staff review how they plan for children's continued learning. This makes sure that children make good progress across all areas of learning. Children benefit from a continually improving service which is responsive to their needs.
• Staff have a wealth of experience and knowledge in supporting children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They know their children and families very well and understand the challenges they face. Staff develop strong partnerships with other agencies. They often receive informal advice from health professionals while children wait for their referrals to be processed. However, staff are less proactive in supporting parents to chase referrals or follow experts' guidance consistently. This means that some children receive more effective support than others.
• Staff promote children's good health. They help children to enjoy being active outside in the fresh air. Younger children have fun developing their strength and balance as they ride the bicycles. Staff teach older children to assess the risks of their play and to follow rules. Children call to their friends to 'watch out' because they know not to set off down the slope until the route is clear. The nursery provides healthy home-cooked meals and snacks. Children relish the roast dinners and ample portions of fruit and vegetables. Staff often use cooking activities to support learning in all other areas. Children enjoy learning to weigh and measure ingredients, use utensils and set the timer.
• Children follow well-rehearsed routines that support their learning in all other areas. For example, younger children take part enthusiastically in the 'jumping bean' song as lunch is prepared. They patiently wait their turn to wash their hands before eating. Older children capably count how many bowls they need before setting the table and offering the serving bowl around.
• On the whole, the curriculum to support children's language works well. Children enjoy stories, books and rhymes. Younger children are excited to join in with the actions to their favourite songs. They practise saying 'sh, sh, sh' as they sing about the mummies on the bus. Older children often lead the 'circle' song to organise their friends ready for circle time. Their confidence to speak in small groups is an asset to their development. They have lots of opportunities to practise their language. Nevertheless, some children's pronunciation remains poor. Some staff are not aware of which sounds or words particular children need to practise. This means there are missed opportunities to reinforce this learning as children play.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• work even more proactively with parents and other agencies to help children to get the support they need to access the curriculum
• develop an even sharper focus on the specific words or sounds that children need to learn and practise, so this can be more easily shared with parents and staff and practised as much as possible.