Abbey Place Day Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children happily arrive at the nursery and are greeted by warm and caring staff. Activities that children enjoy are provided, which helps children to settle quickly.

Children's behaviour is good. They have lovely manners and, when they forget to use them, staff kindly remind them. This helps children to feel safe.

Children learn from an early age to take turns. For example, when using the magnifying glasses in the garden, children pass them around so others can see the minibeasts under the log.Children learn about the natural world as they go on a minibeast hunt.

They search and find the minibeasts staff have ...hidden around the garden. When collected, children explain what they are and where they live. For example, a child points to the butterfly 'that came from the cocoon'.

Children find a spider asleep in the shed and name it 'Cherry'. They recall that Cherry has eight legs. Children have a good understanding about minibeasts and animals and where they come from.

Babies enthusiastically explore the stimulating dinosaur tray that staff have prepared. They stomp the dinosaurs through wheat biscuits, listening to the crunching sounds and then mimicking the vocal tones of the staff. Children are inquisitive to feel a selection of textures.

They learn to use their senses to understand and explore their activities and environment.

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

The nursery curriculum focuses on teaching children the life skills they will need so they are well prepared for starting school. For example, children learn to take turns and they follow instructions as they tidy up their toys.

Children learn to use a knife and fork and pour their milk at snack times and mealtimes. As a result, children are making good progress, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities.Staff support children's developing communication and language skills at every opportunity.

They speak clearly and model good language. When reading 'Peace at Last', children listen carefully then join in enthusiastically, finishing the sentences on each page. Children ask lots of questions and recall their own experiences during the story.

Children learn good communication and language skills.Children are encouraged to count and recognise amounts and quantities. For example, when making buns, children count the bun cases needed.

They measure the ingredients, deciding if they need more or less. Children say whether the bun cases are 'full' or 'empty'. Children use mathematical language in their play.

Staff provide children with a wide range of activities to develop their physical skills. For example, children start their day with yoga. They practise their breathing as they stretch and bend.

Outdoors, children take turns riding the bikes. They climb, build, and explore the environment with magnifying glasses. However, babies do not have a safe area to play away from older children.

Babies have limited access to stimulating and challenging activities outdoors. As a result, babies learning and development opportunities outdoors are reduced.The recently appointed manager has introduced many positive changes in the nursery in a short period.

Staff have developed their skills and knowledge to ensure they offer quality learning opportunities to children. Additional funding has been used to support children's learning experiences and help close any gaps in children's learning and development.Key persons observe and assess children's development effectively.

They use children's next steps in development to plan activities to engage children. However, these individual next steps are not always recorded or discussed. As a result, in the absence of the key person, other staff are not always clear how to support children's individual learning and development needs.

Partnership with parents is effective. Parents are regularly updated about their children's daily routines via an electronic app. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, parents now drop off and pick up their children inside the nursery.

This enables them to see the children in play and form positive partnerships with key persons. However, parents do not receive regular updates regarding their children's learning and development progress. As a result, parents do not have an overview of their children's progress or how they can further support their children's learning at home.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.All staff have a good knowledge of child protection issues and are fully aware of their responsibilities to keep children safe. Staff are confident in knowing the local procedures to follow to raise a concern about a child or a member of staff.

A designated teacher for children in care has being appointed to support vulnerable children. Procedures are in place to ensure parents are notified of any accident or incident that involves their child straight away via the electronic app.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nensure babies have a safe and stimulating area to learn and develop outdoors find ways to share children's individual next steps for learning so they are accessible to staff in the absence of the key person nensure parents are regularly updated regarding their children's developmental progress and how they can further support learning at home.