Neptune Nursery

Neptune Nursery Flagship Centre, London Road, Tilbury, Essex RM18 8EY

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Inspection date 22 August 2019 Previous inspection date 2 June 2016

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This inspection: Good 2

Previous inspection: Good 2 Effectiveness of leadership and management Good 2 Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good 2 Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good 2 Outcomes for children Good 2

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This provision is good

n Children are happy, settled and have formed strong relationships with staff. They play contentedly with, and alongside, one another and are quick to share and take turns with their friends. n Children thoroughly enjoy a morning picnic in the garden. Staff engage children in an in-depth discussion about the benefits of healthy eating and the positive impact that eating fruit and vegetables has on their bodies. Staff extend children's learning through discussions about the colours of different fruits and which animals eat them. n Children are provided with a wide range of interesting resources that stimulate their imaginations. n Children are given the time and space to really explore toys to find out how they work. For example, younger children discover that they need to turn colourful magnet sticks around to make them connect together. n The manager is ambitious and has a well-organised self-evaluation process in place

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This provision is good

that staff are invested and included in. The team is motivated to continuously improve its practice and enhance the learning and experiences for children. n Staff give children specific praise so that they immediately know exactly what they have done right. This helps them in their understanding and supports children's emotional well-being. n Staff do not consistently maintain their sharp focus on challenging the thinking of most-able children during some adult-supported activities. n Occasionally, staff do not use all available opportunities to extend children's language and vocabulary to a higher level.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

To further improve the quality of the early years provision the provider should:

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

n make full use of children's enthusiasm for the rich learning opportunities staff provide to consistently challenge the thinking skills of most-able children n provide more opportunities to extend children's language and vocabulary to help them to achieve the best possible progress.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

n The inspector observed staff and children in their rooms and outside in the garden area. n The inspector spoke to staff, children and managers at appropriate times during the inspection. n The inspector took into account the feedback and comments provided by parents. n The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager and held discussions regarding the impact on children's learning and development. n The inspector held a meeting with the manager and checked evidence of staff qualifications and their suitability to work with children.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

Staff are highly motivated and they regularly attend training that is specifically focused on developing their skills and knowledge. Supervision opportunities help ensure the well- being of all staff members and the manager has an open-door policy so that staff feel welcome to seek advice and expertise at any time. Partnerships with parents are strong and parents comment that they feel very well supported by staff in the care that they provide for their children. Safeguarding is effective. All staff have a good knowledge and understanding of their role in identifying and addressing any concerns relating to safeguarding or wider child protection issues.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

Staff are quick to adapt activities in the garden that follow children's interests from their rooms. For instance, children playing excitedly with dinosaurs after breakfast are provided with a dinosaur island and sand volcano outside. They thoroughly enjoy hunting for dinosaur bones and making sand balls to splash into pools of water. Staff promote children's physical development very well. Children learn to balance along long beams and they dig and make sandcastles in a large sandpit. They learn how to manoeuvre themselves and their toy prams through gaps in the equipment and pour a muddy concoction into pots and containers in the mud kitchen. Children's progress is precisely monitored and tracked both individually and as a group. This enables staff to quickly identify any gaps in children's learning and put strategies in place to close these. Children in group interventions are making very good progress. Staff extend children's

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

early mathematical skills at every opportunity throughout the day.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are good

Children are very well behaved and display particularly good manners for their age. Highly experienced staff encourage children to develop their independent thinking skills and make their own choices throughout the day. Staff provide a nurturing environment where even the youngest children are confident in expressing their preferences. Children have the self-assurance to ask for what they would like. They are well versed in the hygiene routines of the nursery. They learn to keep themselves and other children safe during activities and play.

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Outcomes for children are good

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are very well supported. For example, their next steps in learning are broken down into small chunks so that they are able to make progress from strong foundations. Young children learn that writing has meaning. For example, when they investigate different herbs planted in the garden, staff read out the label names and identify mint, sage and rosemary. Children learn valuable skills that prepare them to make confident steps in their next stage of development and school.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY104279 Local authority Thurrock Inspection number 10073027 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises Registers Early Years Register Day care type Full day care Age range of children 1 - 4 Total number of places 72 Number of children on roll 51 Name of registered person Thurrock Council

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 2 June 2016 Telephone number 01375 852986

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Neptune Nursery registered in 2003. It employs 14 members of childcare staff including the manager. All staff hold appropriate early years qualifications ranging from level 2 to level 6. The nursery opens from Monday to Friday all year round. Sessions are from 8am until 6.30pm. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year- old children.

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This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children's learning, development and care, known as the early years foundation stage.

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procedures set out in the guidance Complaints procedure: raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted, which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children's services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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