Yellow Brick Road, Newark

Inclusion: Strong standard

Staff gather information about children's individual needs from parents and carers before they start at the setting. They use this information to provide activities and experiences based on children's interests and have high expectations for meeting children's needs. They skilfully remove barriers to learning to ensure all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, receive the best start to their learning. Leaders have embedded an inclusive culture and established a robust internal referral process within the leadership team, where staff can access professional support. This means children receive early support, and children's targets are met quickly. Leaders demonstrate a secure understanding of how to use early years pupil premium funding, and, as a result, staff expertly support children's personal and emotional skills.

All children have a strong sense of belonging. Staff skilfully provide high-quality interactions and a highly supportive environment for all children to feel safe and learn, supporting those with specific needs and enabling all children to reach their full potential. Leaders and staff work collaboratively with external professionals to ensure children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make fast progress from their starting points.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

The new leadership team have implemented a well-planned curriculum that supports learning across all areas of learning. Staff prioritise their teaching to help children learn the life skills that they need for future learning. They have a good understanding of what children can do and what they would like them to achieve, using assessments to focus on what children need to learn next. For example, children bake or cook weekly to help them learn these life skills from an early age, and adapt this process to include children's next steps, such as counting or developing their social skills. However, when planning activities or experiences, staff can more accurately identify how to build on the skills and knowledge children already have.

Staff demonstrate high-quality interactions with the children. Conversations flow naturally and they ask open-ended questions to encourage children's language development and thinking skills. Staff make adaptations to their practice to meet the individual needs of children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face barriers to their learning. For example, staff implement learning tools, such as visual aids or photos, to help children understand routines to support their understanding.

Achievement: Expected standard

Children generally, including those who may face barriers to their learning, make expected age and stage levels of progress. They develop key skills to support their future learning. Younger children learn to communicate confidently by repeating words staff say and learning new vocabulary. Older children learn to listen and share their ideas and opinions. Furthermore, children engage in meaningful conversations with each other, and staff ask questions to promote their thinking skills. This helps them to learn skills that prepare them for the next stage of their learning.

Overall, children are independent. For example, babies and young children choose what they would like to play with and learn to feed themselves. Older children pour their own drinks from a water station and wash and dry their cups after they have finished. Leaders and staff have incorporated routines like this into daily practice to help children learn the life skills that they need for their future education. Children benefit from targeted support that enables them to access their learning. This results in children making progress from their starting points.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

Leaders and staff have high expectations for children's behaviour and effectively support children to have positive attitudes about their learning. Staff consistently manage children's behaviour effectively. Leaders have created a robust curriculum that encourages positive attitudes to lifelong learning. For example, in each room, children learn about expectations and boundaries, which staff promote regularly, and children have an impressive understanding. As a result, children support each other's behaviour and attitudes by reminding other children when boundaries are crossed and help each other to learn.

Leaders and staff are positive role models and continuously show positive attitudes to learning. They constantly praise children for their achievements and offer tailored individual support when needed. As a result, children are confident to try new experiences and successfully build their self-esteem. Children follow the established routines that are skilfully modelled by staff. For example, children independently manage self-care routines, such as wiping their noses, and daily tasks, such as handwashing and serving their own food.

Leaders and staff rigorously monitor children's attendance through discussions with parents to help them understand the importance of regular attendance. This helps children to reach their full potential.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Leaders and staff have created a welcoming and nurturing environment across the nursery, where children thrive and develop long lasting relationships with staff and one another. Staff promote children to learn about healthy lifestyles and to benefit from daily opportunities of outdoor play, and they frequently go on outings in the local community. For example, children engage in physical exercise while walking to a local bookshop to take part in a group reading experience.

Children form very trusting relationships with staff. They confidently make independent choices in their play. Staff ensure that children of all ages can access the routines. For example, staff adapt the daily routines to reduce barriers to learning for all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Children develop positive attitudes towards healthy eating and enjoy fresh, nutritious meals tailored to their dietary requirements. Staff eat alongside the children and model positive social behaviours, encouraging children to be independent, use polite language and help them form respectful habits. However, staff can further encourage children's independence and active involvement during meal routines.

Leadership and governance: Strong standard

As a new leadership team, leaders have undertaken a thorough review and developed a secure understanding of the setting's many strengths. They continually reflect and instil a culture of continuous improvement. They show passion and commitment to providing high-quality care and education for the children and staff team. Leaders are highly reflective and act quickly to make changes to the setting and constantly review the impact of their actions. For example, they are working with external professionals within the local community to develop and deliver training to their own staff and other settings in the area.

Leaders have worked hard on designing an ambitious curriculum that offers a broad range of experiences and aims to give children life skills they will use later in life. They have consistently high expectations and professionalism, which is embedded across the setting.

Leaders complete regular supervision and appraisal meetings with staff. They provide them with feedback on ways to continually strengthen their practice. This includes providing staff with opportunities to support their own professional development and extend their knowledge. For example, staff have recently completed training on safer sleep practices, and staff now have impressive knowledge of these new requirements. Leaders monitor staff's teaching through completing observations of their practice and helping staff to evaluate the impact this has on children.

Targeted training and coaching have strengthened staff expertise and improved the quality of the environment and learning experiences for all children. Staff feel well supported and benefit from regular professional development. Staff feel respected, are enthusiastic and demonstrate genuine commitment to children's learning. Staff have positive relationships with parents. They consistently suggest ways to complement children's learning at home through activities and providing books for them to borrow to take home to read with their children.