Wetherby Pembridge Minors

Inclusion: Strong standard

Leaders prioritise early identification and ensure that children's needs are recognised and supported through a well-structured graduated response. Staff know children extremely well and adapt the provision so that every child can access all aspects of curriculum. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and other children that face barriers to learning are fully included in the life of the nursery and make secure and sustained progress from their starting points.

Staff implement targeted strategies with precision, working with external professionals such as speech and language therapists, inclusion advisers and early help teams. The detailed assessment and reporting procedures allow staff to set personalised targets for children. Staff meet regularly to discuss children's progress and, in turn, assess the impact of their own teaching on children's learning. Parents and carers speak highly of the support they receive and the visible progress their children make.

Leaders ensure that all children receive consistently high-quality care by maintaining clear expectations and monitoring the setting. Children who speak English as an additional language benefit from language strategies. Staff skilfully model language, provide visual cues, use Makaton, label resources clearly and incorporate words from children's home languages. As a result, children confidently use vocabulary and join in songs and routines.

Curriculum and teaching: Strong standard

Leaders place a strong emphasis on delivering a high-quality curriculum and consistently strong teaching across the setting. Staff know children's interests well and use this knowledge to plan learning experiences that motivate and engage them. Interactions are frequent and purposeful, consistently building on what children know and can do. As a result, teaching is highly effective and supports children to deepen their knowledge, skills and understanding. Staff model rich vocabulary and deepen children's language through meaningful conversations, encouraging them to express themselves with confidence. Real-life experiences, such as bus trips, supermarket visits and outings to the post office to post letters home, further enrich the curriculum and strengthen children's understanding of their community and the wider world.

Staff are nurturing and highly attuned to children's emotional needs. They build warm, trusting relationships and teach children the language they need to understand and express their feelings. As a result, children develop strong personal, social and emotional skills and learn to manage their behaviour with increasing confidence and independence. Physical development is woven through daily routines and play, with children developing both small and large physical skills through purposeful activities such as making marks with different implements, using construction materials to connect, outdoor exploration and self-care routines.

Children experience mathematics meaningfully throughout the day. Staff weave early number skills into familiar routines, for example encouraging children to count pieces of fruit at snack time and use language such as 'more' or 'less'. Daily routines are used skilfully to deepen children's understanding of numbers, patterns and problem-solving. These opportunities help children develop strong mathematical awareness.

Achievement: Strong standard

Children achieve extremely well across the setting. They make solid progress from their starting points, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Leaders track progress closely and meet with teachers to review children's progress, ensuring that teaching is targeted and responsive. Parents and carers consistently report that their children grow rapidly in confidence, independence and communication skills.

Children show great joy in their learning and approach activities with enthusiasm and curiosity. Their listening skills flourish as they follow instructions carefully during everyday routines and play. Children understand and uphold the setting's promises of try, share, listen, be kind, be polite and be patient. They demonstrate these values respectfully throughout the day.

Children are skilful and confident communicators. They happily share their thoughts, feelings and needs, and staff are swift to support them. Children show superb social skills. They interact well with others and develop strong bonds with friends and staff. They take turns and share without adult support.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

Children consistently show positive attitudes to learning and demonstrate a clear understanding of the high expectations for behaviour that are set by the staff. Older children show strong awareness of personal space and respectful behaviour. For example, one child said, 'No, thank you' when another came too close. Staff praised and reinforced this positive communication.

Staff are effective role models who show kindness and respect, offering frequent praise and encouragement for children's achievements. Secure routines help children feel safe and confident about what will happen next, and children take great pride in being recognised for their good sharing and good listening. Staff also use calming strategies, such as 'breathing like a shower' or 'mountain breathing', to help children regulate, listen and prepare for the next activity. All children engage fully in these routines, demonstrating strong self-regulation, turn-taking and readiness to learn.

Leaders carefully monitor attendance so that children benefit fully from their experiences at the setting. From the start, they explain to parents and carers the importance of arriving on time and of notifying the setting of any absences. They follow up with families and offer support where needed.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard

Children's welfare and wellbeing are a core priority. Leaders ensure that all staff understand how to support them effectively. Staff know children remarkably well and create a nurturing environment where children feel safe, valued and understood. From their very first days in the setting, children are welcomed warmly and supported through sensitive settling-in routines. This helps them build secure attachments with their key person. Staff are highly attentive to children's emotional needs and respond promptly when children seek comfort, reassurance or guidance.

Staff help children develop healthy habits through consistent modelling and daily routines. They support children to wash their hands effectively and talk to them about making healthy choices during snack and mealtimes, sharing nutritious menus with families to reinforce these messages at home. Children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, benefit from regular physical activity, including visits to local parks and participation in forest school sessions. These experiences strengthen children's physical development, enrich their learning and deepen their understanding of the natural world. Through this balanced approach, children learn how to look after their bodies, stay active and make positive choices that support their health and wellbeing.

Leadership and governance: Strong standard

Leaders have a clear and ambitious vision, underpinned by consistently high expectations for every child. They uphold high standards to ensure that all children achieve, thrive and feel a strong sense of belonging. This ethos is evident across the setting, where leaders model high aspirations and create an environment in which children are happy, confident and eager to learn.

Leaders know the setting remarkably well and have an accurate understanding of its strengths and priorities, ensuring that improvement work is sharply focused and sustained. Since their registration, leaders have concentrated on building team cohesion, strengthening consistency and embedding a robust curriculum.

Governors work constantly well in partnership with leaders to reduce workload, promote staff wellbeing and strengthen staff expertise. They invest in high-quality resources that enhance children's learning and are committed to continually improving their offer for families and the local community, as well as ensuring that any new decisions place staff wellbeing with high importance.

Partnerships with parents and carers are extremely well established, for instance through daily conversations, termly meetings and family events that help parents feel supported and a part of the nursery community. Families are very positive about the communication they receive and how well leaders and staff work with them.