Meridian Nursery

Inspection of Meridian Nursery Meridian Centre, 59 St.Paul's Road, Bradford BD8 7LS

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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 Outstanding

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The provision is good

Children are enthusiastic about entering the nursery. They respond well to the familiar routines. For example, older children excitedly sit in the circle to sing the morning song after self-registering their arrival. Staff offer appropriate support to children, which develops confidence in their own abilities. The well-presented environment is inviting. Staff ensure there are resources and activities accessible which appeal to children and support their interests. This helps children, including those who are new to the nursery, to settle into their play. As a result, most children feel relaxed and happy when separating from their parents. Staff have high expectations of children. The nursery has a well-planned outdoor area which children delight in exploring. Children have the freedom to enjoy experiences that extend their learning indoors and in the outside area. Staff adopt positive behaviour management strategies. Children learn about rules and boundaries and

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The provision is good

receive encouragement and praise from staff. For example, staff support younger children to work out how to connect pieces of train track together. Children beam with pride at their success as they are able to whizz the train along the track. The manager welcomes parents and professionals to run structured activity sessions, helping to expand children's experiences in enjoyable ways. Parents speak with confidence about the quality of care their children receive.

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need to do better?

n The nursery has a robust key-person system. Children have strong emotional attachments to staff which support their well-being, and parents know who their child's key person is. Staff encourage children to understand who they are and what makes them unique. They listen to children's ideas and provide learning opportunities to support these. For example, together they act out the story about a bear hunt. Staff talk with confidence about their key children and their development. n Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and those who receive funding, make good progress. The special educational needs coordinator shares her excellent understanding and ensures a targeted approach towards future learning. Strong professional partnerships and good information-sharing with other agencies support children to reach their potential. n Staff receive regular supervisions and complete training to improve and update

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need to do better?

their childcare knowledge, including courses on how children learn. However, not all staff are as effective at implementing the skills they have learned. For example, during an adult-led activity, staff do not put enough thought into the resources needed. When older children mix primary-coloured paint, staff are not clear about the outcomes they want children to achieve. Therefore, although children have some fun, their learning is not highly challenged. Furthermore, the monitoring of staff teaching is not sufficiently embedded into practice to

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need to do better?

16 January 2020 consistently raise the quality of teaching to the highest level. n The nursery is an active part of the local community. Staff work extremely hard to develop good relationships with parents. They foster good communication through daily conversations and the use of an online assessment tool. Staff encourage parents to access the nursery's website and read the newsletters. Parents attend coffee mornings, which are highly successful in promoting good working partnerships. They share their thoughts and ideas and find out how they can support their child's learning at home. n The staff are dedicated to the nursery and their well-being is supported effectively by the manager. The majority of staff are long-standing, well- qualified members of the team. However, at times, the focus for some staff is on the daily routine and the immediate transitional arrangements, particularly with the younger children. One example of this is when children go home at

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need to do better?

lunchtime. This means there are periods of time when other children are not involved in any specific activities and receive less support from staff. n Staff collect good information about children during home visits and initial settling-in sessions. They promote children's good health through effective personal hygiene routines and nutritious food options. Children's language skills, including for those with a delay in this area, are promoted. Effective strategies include multilingual staff reading to children in different languages, and parents attending the nursery to share story time. A lending library is also available for parents and children to further enhance children's communication, language and literacy development.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff have a good understanding of, and can recognise, the signs that indicate a child may be at risk of harm. They familiarise themselves with key policies. There are effective procedures in place to follow should staff have a concern about a child or an adult in the nursery. Staff complete relevant training in all aspects of safeguarding and know who the designated lead practitioners are within the nursery. Staff can talk about wider safeguarding issues including the 'Prevent' duty guidance. Ongoing discussions, updates to Disclosure and Barring Service checks and effective risk assessments help to keep children safe.

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should:

n review planning of adult-led activities for older children to ensure high levels of challenge and promote learning and development further n focus more sharply on monitoring staff practice to raise the overall quality of teaching to the highest level

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should:

16 January 2020 n review the organisation of some routines to ensure younger children are fully engaged in activities and supported in their learning.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY345050 Local authority Bradford Inspection number 10117724 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 2 to 4 Total number of places 44 Number of children on roll 74 Name of registered person The Meridian Centre

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reference number

Telephone number 01274 490353 Date of previous inspection 1 May 2015

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Information about this early years setting

Meridian Nursery registered in 2006. The nursery employs 12 members of childcare staff, 11 of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3. The nursery opens Monday to Friday, during term time only. Sessions are from 9am until midday and 12.45pm until 3.45pm. Some children attend for the full day. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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Inspection activities

n The inspector carried out a learning walk with the manager and curriculum support staff to understand the early years provision and how the curriculum is organised. n The deputy manager and the inspector conducted a joint observation. n The manager and the inspector had several discussions and a meeting during the inspection. n Parents gave their views on the setting through discussions with the inspector on the day of the inspection. n The inspector sampled documentation, including evidence of staff suitability and training. n The inspector held discussions with staff and children present on the day of the inspection.

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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

16 January 2020 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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