Willow Childcare

Inclusion: Strong standard

Leaders and staff show a consistent commitment to inclusion across the nursery. They run a robust monitoring system and use their secure knowledge and detailed understanding of each child to plan individualised support. Leaders hold regular discussions with parents and carers and other professionals. This enables staff to implement timely and targeted interventions within the provision, so that children achieve their next steps in learning alongside their peers. For example, staff provide motivating sensory activities when children become overwhelmed, enabling them to re engage swiftly with their learning.

Leaders and staff fully understand the importance of creating an accessible, adaptable environment that strengthens children's sense of belonging. They take swift action to help children overcome barriers to their learning. Staff adapt their teaching skilfully to meet different needs and consistently support children's understanding by using visual prompts, signs and gesture.

Leaders ensure staff have access to high-quality training. They train and support those responsible for making referrals so they are confident and experienced. Leaders also use pupil premium and disability access funding effectively to provide targeted resources and enriching experiences that help vulnerable children thrive. Parents of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those known or previously known to social care speak highly of the setting. They value the warm relationships and the progress their children make.

Curriculum and teaching: Strong standard

Leaders design a broad and ambitious curriculum that enables all children, including those who face barriers to learning, to access a wide range of meaningful experiences. Staff assess children's progress systematically and use this knowledge to ensure their learning builds in a clear sequence. They enrich the curriculum further by introducing opportunities that extend children's skills and interests. Leaders strengthen this approach through purposeful work with community partners. For example, children in the Foxglove room benefit from visits from local artists, who help to ignite children's creativity, imaginations and enjoyment of learning.

Babies experience calm, sensitive and reassuring care that supports their emotional security and early communication. Staff intentionally create opportunities throughout the day to develop children's language. They consistently use visual prompts and sign language to support their understanding.

Staff weave mathematical learning throughout the curriculum and use children's interests to explore new concepts. For instance, when pre-school children became curious about telling the time, staff used this interest to teach them core number skills and wider mathematical ideas.

Children move freely between well-organised indoor and outdoor spaces. Outside, they access plentiful opportunities for physical exercise, exploration and creative play. Staff use these moments to teach children how to recognise and manage risks. This helps children to develop confidence and an understanding of how to keep themselves safe in their environment.

Achievement: Strong standard

All children make excellent progress from their starting points across all the areas of learning. They grow into confident communicators whose creativity blossoms as they share their ideas, thoughts and feelings. For example, children talk excitedly about the stories they are making up for their dragon puppets. They show that they feel safe and quickly build secure bonds with staff. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities thrive because staff provide highly personalised support that removes barriers to their learning.

Across the nursery, children demonstrate high levels of engagement and an eager curiosity. They benefit from a rich learning environment indoors and outdoors, where they explore, investigate and develop their creativity and critical thinking. As they move through the nursery, children become increasingly independent. They treat one another and staff with kindness and respect. These secure foundations ensure they are ready to flourish when they move on to school.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

The nursery provides a happy environment, where warm and respectful relationships help children to feel secure. Staff embed routines so well that children transition smoothly through the day. This creates a consistently calm and purposeful atmosphere. They interact with children in warm and empathetic ways. Staff show genuine care for children, offering positive role models. Their approach supports children to behave very well and form meaningful friendships. Children use each other's names and share resources, often cooperating without adult support. When children become distressed, staff respond swiftly and sensitively, using their deep knowledge of individual needs to help them to re-engage in learning.

Children take pride in their achievements; they are confident to share and celebrate their talents and interests. These interests are extended and deepened by community partnerships. For example, staff and leaders are working with a university to enhance children's creativity across the curriculum.

Leaders and staff work closely with parents and carers to promote regular and punctual attendance. They take time to understand each family's context and put tailored plans in place to remove barriers. Their proactive approach ensures children benefit fully from the curriculum and daily routines. As a result, children develop positive attitudes, engage enthusiastically in learning and grow into confident, increasingly independent learners.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard

Children's welfare and wellbeing are given the highest priority across the nursery. Leaders greet children and parents and carers by name and take time to check in with them at the start of the day. Leaders have designed highly flexible and robust settling-in procedures tailored to children's individual needs. Settling-in sessions are carefully planned, meaning trusting relationships between staff, children and families develop swiftly.

Staff develop this relationship further by implementing a highly effective key-person system. All staff know their key children very well and act swiftly in response to children's changing needs and circumstances. Consequently, children's emotional wellbeing is consistently prioritised to ensure care and learning are tailored to each child's needs.

Staff promote children's emotional and physical health very well. Children learn how to stay fit and healthy and communicate their needs from an early age. For example, babies confidently indicate they are tired by pointing to the cot, showing secure attachments and self-awareness. During mealtimes, staff create a calm and nurturing atmosphere that supports children's wellbeing and independence. They sit alongside children as they serve themselves food and engage in relaxed conversations, taking opportunities to encourage healthy eating habits. Excellent hygiene procedures and clear teaching about keeping themselves safe further enhance children's wellbeing.

Leadership and governance: Strong standard

Leaders show passion and dedication in their roles and create a very effective and cohesive leadership team. They prioritise staff welfare and wellbeing. Leaders actively promote professional development at every level to benefit both staff and children. As a result, they maintain a very stable, highly professional and harmonious team.

Leaders set a clear and ambitious vision for the nursery and demonstrate a precise understanding of its strengths and of where they can improve further. They work closely with local partners to enrich the curriculum, giving it depth, breadth and richness.

The team reflects continually and responds swiftly to the changing needs of children and families. Their actions for improvement are purposeful and consistently lead to positive outcomes for children. For example, they modified pick up and drop off arrangements to better support all children's wellbeing.

Leaders communicate highly effectively with parents and carers. They implement robust systems for sharing information so that children's learning and development remain prioritised and celebrated, both in the setting and at home. Parents speak positively about the nursery, reflecting the excellent partnerships leaders and staff build with families and the wider team.