White Lodge Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

All children, particularly those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), have tremendous fun as they learn. They are eager to enter the warm, welcoming and inclusive environment. On arrival at the nursery, children become visibly excited in anticipation of being greeted by their key person. For instance, they move their body with pleasure and demonstrate that they feel happy, as they have huge smiles on their faces. These positive expressions show that children have developed secure attachments and feel safe and secure in the nursery. Children benefit from the manager and staff's high expectations of what they can achieve. Robust settling-in procedures enable staff to gather information from parents and other professionals involved in children's care. This ensures that children's overall needs are met from the outset. Staff are in tune with children's individual capabilities. They continually monitor children's progress to ensure that children continue to learn and develop in all areas.

Children have a positive attitude to learning and behave well. Staff are always close by to offer them support and reassurance as they play and test out new skills and learning. They use gentle words and give simple, clear explanations, making sure that children understand what is expected of them. Children develop the confidence they need to cope with change. This prepares them well for the next stage in their learning.

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

• The inspirational manager and her staff put the children at the heart of everything they do. They work extremely well to ensure that the medical, care and learning needs of all children are met. The manager is aware of the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on children's learning and development. She has worked tirelessly with parents and other professionals to support children to catch up.
• Staff provide a broad range of activities. They are clear of what they want children to learn and teach in a way that excites and engages them. Staff support children's communication and language skills well. For instance, they repeat words, provide a dialogue and use a variety of communication methods, including sign language, to communicate to children. Children develop skills appropriate to their level of ability. They focus and concentrate for short periods and interact effectively with staff.
• Overall, staff have a good understanding of how children learn and support their learning well. Children show high levels of imagination during their play. For example, they pretend that carpet squares are stepping-stones and hop between these to avoid the 'lava' flowing on the floor. However, on occasion, staff provide some children with activities that are too challenging for their abilities.
• Staff do not always recognise this and adapt their teaching to meet children's individual needs. For example, children struggle to use scissors and a large sandcastle mould. As a result, they cannot complete some tasks independently.
• Partnerships with parents are strong. Parents report that they feel confident that their children are safe and well looked after within the nursery. The communication between parents and staff is highly effective in ensuring that children's needs are consistently met. Parents comment that children have made astonishing progress since attending the nursery. They value the many ways that staff communicate with them, including through daily feedback, parent evenings, communication books and weekly newsletters. These positive interactions help to provide continuity in children's care and learning.
• Leaders and managers are committed to the ongoing professional development of the team. They ensure that staff complete targeted training to enable them to meet the specific needs of the children in their care. For example, staff have completed training on how to support children with cochlear implants. This has helped staff to develop a greater understanding of the importance of fitting these in a quiet area, so that children do not become overwhelmed by sudden sounds.
• Overall, staff promote children's health and well-being effectively. Children benefit from regular fresh air and exercise. For instance, they play outdoors in the well-resourced garden. Children follow good hygiene routines and participate in activities to help them to learn how to brush their teeth. These positive experiences help to support children's physical and emotional health. Staff encourage parents to provide healthy meals and snacks. However, at times, they miss opportunities to teach children about the benefits of healthy eating and how this affects their bodies.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• continue to provide support to staff to help them to recognise when they need to adapt their teaching in response to children's existing skills
• provide more consistent opportunities for children to develop their awareness of making healthy food choices and understand how this contributes towards their health and well-being.