St Lawrence's Day Nursery

Inspection of St Lawrence's Day Nursery Off High Street, Gnosall, STAFFORD ST20 0EX

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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The provision is good

Children and parents are welcomed warmly into this friendly nursery. Children build strong attachments with staff and are settled and happy in their care. Children benefit from a variety of adult-led and child-initiated activities throughout the day both inside and outside. As a result, children are making good progress from their starting points. Children are motivated and enthusiastic to learn. Children delight in playing with their friends in the safe and secure outside area. They negotiate a range of equipment to learn how to climb and balance. Staff provide consistent praise and encouragement, which help to promote children's self-esteem. Children follow established routines and demonstrate independence in their self-care. Children's behaviour is excellent. They listen attentively to staff and respond positively to instructions. Children enjoy the vast array of good-quality resources. They freely choose what they would like to play with and learn to share and take

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The provision is good

turns. Babies settle quickly and thrive, confidently separating from their parents. They have fun exploring a range of sensory resources and safely practise their early walking skills.

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need to do better?

n The dedicated and passionate staff use detailed observations to plan exciting activities that focus on children's interests and what they need to learn next. For example, children showing an interest in dinosaurs are helped to explore this further. They concentrate on making dinosaurs out of dough and colouring in pictures, which helps to develop their fine motor skills and imagination. n Children are encouraged to develop a love of books. Older children excitedly vote on which book they would like at story time and talk about the author. They join in with repeated phrases and eagerly answer questions about the story. As a result, children develop good communication and language skills. Younger children have lots of fun expressing themselves through singing and shaking musical instruments to the music. Babies cuddle up to staff in the cosy area and look at books together. n Children's understanding of the world is supported well. They take part in

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need to do better?

exciting outings within the local community. Children visit the library, the retirement home and the local shop to buy ingredients they need to decorate biscuits and make soup. Children are helped to appreciate different cultures and religions as they take part in activities to mark cultural celebrations. This helps children to respect and value each other's individuality. n All children, including babies, have enjoyable opportunities to explore and investigate. For example, they explore ice blocks with items inside and watch how they melt. Staff take frequent opportunities to incorporate mathematical language into daily routines and children's play. Children enjoy counting and weighing different-coloured animals. However, staff do not always fully consider

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need to do better?

19 November 2019 their teaching, particularly during adult-led activities, to ensure that children of different ages and abilities are suitably challenged and consistently engaged. n The manager and staff are proactive when ensuring they stay up to date with new ideas and continue to develop their knowledge and skills further. For example, they research new and innovative activities and ideas on how to maximise and extend children's learning further. However, this is not yet fully embedded to support and enhance children's problem-solving skills and critical thinking. n The management team and staff demonstrate a strong commitment to swiftly identifying children who may need early help to access the best start in life. Staff work closely with the local health visitor when completing the progress check for two-year-olds. The settling-in process and transitions between rooms are planned to ensure that children and their parents are comfortable and happy

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need to do better?

with the room change. Staff help prepare children for their eventual move to school. For example, the teacher from the local school is invited into the nursery to meet the children and help them to become familiar with what to expect. n The management team and staff have built strong relationships with parents. They share a wealth of information and encourage parents to be involved in their child's learning. Parents are very complimentary about the nursery. They say their children are very lucky to have found a 'second home' at the nursery.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The management team and staff have an excellent understanding of the signs and symptoms that may indicate a child is at risk of neglect or abuse. They have a good understanding of wider safeguarding concerns, including being drawn into extreme situations. Children learn how to keep themselves safe. For example, the local police officer is invited into the nursery to talk to the children about 'stranger danger'. The management team and staff have a comprehensive knowledge of safeguarding protocols and actions to take if they have any concerns about the welfare of a child. The environment is safe and secure. Risk assessments indoors and outdoors and for any outings that children take part in are conducted on a daily basis. All staff and the management team are trained in paediatric first aid and consider children's safety and well-being to be of utmost importance.

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should:

n develop adult-led activities further to engage all children and effectively meet their needs more consistently n provide further opportunities to extend children's critical thinking and problem- solving skills during their play and learning.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 218492 Local authority Staffordshire Inspection number 10072571 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Registers

Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register, Voluntary Childcare Register Day care type Full day care Age range of children 0 to 8 Total number of places 100 Number of children on roll 96 Name of registered person Oldroyd, Claire

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reference number

Telephone number 01785 824828 Date of previous inspection 21 January 2016

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Information about this early years setting

St Lawrence's Day Nursery registered in 1999. The nursery employs 11 members of childcare staff. Of these, nine hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2 and level 3, and one at level 4. The nursery opens Monday to Friday all year round, except for one week at Christmas. Sessions are from 8am until 6pm. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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Inspection activities

n The inspector observed the quality of teaching activities and supervision outdoors and indoors, and assessed the impact on children's learning. n The inspector took account of the views of the parents spoken to on the day of the inspection and from written testimonials. n The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager. n The inspector spoke to members of staff and children at appropriate times during the inspection. n The inspector looked at children's records, planning documentation, evidence of staff suitability and a range of other documentation, including policies and procedures to safeguard children's welfare.

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Inspection activities

We carried out this inspection 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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Inspection activities

19 November 2019 regulates and inspects to 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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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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