South Hills Nursery St. Peters

Inspection of South Hills Nursery St. Peters St Peter's CE Primary Academy, Xanten Way, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP2 9FL

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Overall effectiveness Good

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

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The provision is good

Children are very settled in this friendly nursery and have extremely strong bonds with the staff. They are exceptionally confident and independent learners, who explore enthusiastically and develop creative imaginations. For example, they experimented with making perfumes and potions in the mud kitchen using ingredients such as fresh lemons, limes and lavender. Children are exceptionally well behaved. They respect one another, play cooperatively and quickly learn how to negotiate and express their feelings. Staff know the children well and provide high levels of support to help them make good progress, whatever their starting points. They have a good understanding of children's level of development and individual interests, which enables them to carefully tailor activities and teaching support for each child. Staff use praise and encouragement to build children's self- confidence and give them the foundations they need to be active learners with a

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The provision is good

During the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, the nursery merged with others in the chain to ensure continuity of care for those children that could attend. Staff kept in touch with other children and parents through regular telephone calls, and gave parents ideas for activities that they could do to support their children's learning at home.

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need to do better?

n Staff support children's communication and language well. Children are extremely confident and articulate speakers, who initiate conversations with adults and other children and enthusiastically use language in their play. For example, staff introduced new vocabulary, such as 'grocer', as they discussed a story about a tiger coming for tea, and the children thoroughly enjoyed putting on different voices as they pretended to be characters from the book. n Managers and staff know what they want children to learn and why. They ensure that children are secure in their knowledge before moving them on to the next steps in their development, using their detailed knowledge of each child's level of progress and their interests. They respond promptly to children, setting up activities such as an ice cream parlour when this was identified as a particular interest. n Leadership and management are strong. There are effective systems in place to

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need to do better?

monitor staff performance, such as ongoing discussion, peer reviews, supervision meetings and annual appraisals. Leaders use these to identify training needs and ensure that staff can access the professional development they need. As a result, staff practice is consistent. There is a strong focus on staff well-being. One of the team is a mental health first aider who can provide support for her colleagues if they are struggling with their mental health.

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need to do better?

22 July 2021 n Staff make good use of the current range of resources to support children's learning. However, this range has not been reviewed fully for some time to enable staff to use a wider range of stimulating toys and equipment to take children's learning to the next level. n There is a particularly strong focus on behaviour management in the nursery. Staff use consistent methods to ensure that children follow the 'golden rules'. They suggest the words children could use to negotiate with their friends and offer praise when they successfully ask them to stop doing something they do not like. Children's behaviour is excellent. n Staff are sensitive to children's emotional well-being. They have identified that children are still anxious about COVID-19 so have set up a 'happy hospital' in the role play area, where children can have positive experiences of making each other better. n There are good partnerships with parents. Staff work with them to find out

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need to do better?

relevant information about each child before they start attending and share information about their progress frequently, using an online platform and through telephone calls. Parents comment that their children are making good progress and that staff support them well. Parents of older children who are moving on to school enjoyed attending a graduation ceremony where children proudly celebrated their achievements. n Staff are skilled at identifying when children may need additional support. They work in partnership with other agencies, including health visitors, specialist organisations and the local children's centre, to ensure these children are supported to make good progress.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders and staff prioritise the safety of children. The nursery is secure and children can play freely in a safe environment. Staff have a broad knowledge of the signs that a child may be at risk of harm and understand their responsibility to take action, whether by referring it to the designated safeguarding lead or direct to the multi-agency safeguarding hub. Staff also understand the nursery's whistle-blowing policy and explain how they would follow this if they were concerned by the conduct of one of their colleagues. Managers ensure that staff's safeguarding knowledge is kept up to date through training and discussion.

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should:

n build on the existing range of resources so staff can use a wider range of stimulating and interesting toys and equipment to help children make the best possible progress.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY563641 Local authority Wiltshire Inspection number 10131309 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

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inspection

Total number of places 36 Number of children on roll 40 Name of registered person South Hills School Limited

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reference number

Telephone number 01722441374 Date of previous inspection 5 November 2019

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Information about this early years setting

South Hills Nursery St. Peters registered in 2018. It operates from St Peter's CE Primary Academy in Salisbury, Wiltshire. It opens from 7.15am until 6pm, Monday to Friday. A team of seven staff work with the children, five of whom hold early years qualifications from level 3 to level 6. The nursery is in receipt of funding to provide free early education for children aged two, three and four years. The nursery also provides care before and after school for pupils of St Peter's school.

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Inspection activities

n This was the first routine inspection the provider received since the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the provider and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the setting. n The manager and the inspector completed a joint observation to assess and discuss the quality of teaching. n The inspector spoke to parents to gather their views of the nursery. n The inspector scrutinised a sample of documentation, including staff's first-aid qualifications and an example of a staff record folder. n Several children were tracked by the inspector in order to assess their experience in the nursery and the progress that they are making. n The inspector spoke to staff and children during the inspection. n The inspector and the manager completed a learning walk and discussed the operation of the nursery and the intent of the curriculum.

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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

22 July 2021 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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