Cherry Tree Nursery

Inspection of Cherry Tree Nursery Hollingdean Sure Start Centre, Brentwood Road, BRIGHTON BN1 7DY

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

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

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The provision requires improvement

Babies are cared for by staff who know them well, and benefit from loving bonds with their key person. However, their learning needs are not always met effectively. At times, they do not receive the support they need to extend their learning and early language development. Overall, pre-school children make good progress in their development and prepare well for school. They express themselves well through speech and are very physically active outdoors, where they develop strong skills. However, their learning and thinking skills are not always fully extended and their good mathematical development is not consistently enhanced.

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The provision requires improvement

Children enjoy their time at this inclusive and nurturing nursery. They are happy and feel safe and secure with the caring staff. Children of all ages develop good levels of confidence and self-esteem and form positive bonds with staff and each other. Older children enjoy playing together, such as when developing their imaginary play outdoors, and show good social skills. They behave well and learn to cooperate, be kind and listen to others.

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The provision requires improvement

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those who receive additional funding are supported very well. Their uniqueness and individual needs are celebrated and are at the heart of the nursery's ethos. This helps all children to feel valued and part of a community.

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need to do better?

n The manager and her senior team know their nursery, local area and children well and provide an inclusive setting, where all children and families are welcome. They provide a curriculum based on what children know and can do and aim to close gaps in children's learning and experiences. n The manager quickly accesses inclusion funding, where possible, to supply one- to-one support for children who need it. Children with SEND are given high levels of attention and staff work very closely with a wide range of professionals and parents to share expertise. Together, they put targeted plans in place to help children progress in their identified areas of need. Parents really appreciate the support their children receive. n Staff follow babies' routines from home closely and build gentle and reassuring bonds with them. Babies show good motivation and concentration as they carefully go up and down climbing frames and slides. However, at times, the

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need to do better?

baby room gets too messy and staff do not recognise the impact this has on learning quickly enough. At these times, although babies are happy and engaged in play, staff do not spend enough time interacting with them to guide their learning and extend their early language development.

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need to do better?

23 November 2021 n The large and stimulating outdoor environment is particularly engaging for children of all ages, who very much enjoy their time spent out there. Children learn to climb trees safely and move confidently in the space. Staff engage well with children outdoors and children develop good physical skills as they carefully make sandcastles. n Some pre-school staff are highly qualified, skilled and experienced. They listen carefully to children and use their interactions to guide language development and learning. However, less-experienced staff do not make the most of their interactions with children to fully extend their learning and encourage their thinking skills. They do not always have the highest expectations of what children can achieve. n Despite this, pre-school children enjoy a wide range of engaging experiences, such as painting, stories, singing and imaginary play. They learn to understand

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need to do better?

and label their own emotions and regulate their behaviour with staff support. However, support for children's mathematical development is not always fully effective. Staff do not make consistent use of their interactions to further support children's good understanding of numbers and mathematical concepts. n The manager uses additional funding successfully to help close gaps in children's learning. After identifying a lack of access to literacy for some children, she is using early years pupil premium money to broaden their experiences. For example, children receive 10 books to take home and read with their families, with one focused on in nursery each week. n The manager and her senior team have a positive vision for the nursery. They regularly meet with staff to discuss their well-being and offer helpful coaching and training to develop practice. However, although they have identified that the baby room staff need further support, they have not acted on this quickly or

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need to do better?

effectively enough. There is more targeted support needed to raise the level of practice to a consistently high level.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Safeguarding is given high priority at the nursery. The management team and staff attend regular safeguarding training and work very well as a team to keep children safe. They fully understand the signs that a child's welfare may be at risk, including from wider safeguarding issues, such as extremism. Management and staff confidently know how to report and escalate any such concerns if needed. Staff's suitability to work with children is checked closely and recruitment is thorough. The manager builds strong links with local agencies and, when needed, works closely with professionals to monitor and support children's safety.

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Due date

ensure staff make consistently good use of the baby room environment and their interactions, to effectively support babies' learning and early language development at all times 14/01/2022

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Due date

focus staff's professional development more on the key areas for improvement to help achieve consistently good practice throughout the nursery. 14/01/2022

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should:

n enhance the curriculum for mathematics and give children consistent opportunities to explore numbers and mathematical concepts n strengthen good practice in the pre-school to further extend children's learning and support their critical thinking skills.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY284309 Local authority Brighton and Hove Inspection number 10128591 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises Registers Early Years Register Day care type Full day care

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inspection

Total number of places 50 Number of children on roll 84 Name of registered person Brighton & Hove City Council

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reference number

Telephone number 01273 296052 Date of previous inspection 1 April 2016

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Information about this early years setting

Cherry Tree Nursery registered in 2004. It operates in Hollingdean Children's Centre in Brighton, East Sussex. The nursery opens every weekday from 8am to 6pm for 51 weeks of the year. The nursery is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education for children aged two, three and four years. The nursery employs 18 staff, 16 of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications between level 2 and qualified teacher status.

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Inspection activities

n This was the first routine inspection the provider received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the manager and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the nursery. n The inspector was given a tour of the nursery by the manager and deputy manager and they carried out a learning walk together to discuss the curriculum. n The manager and the inspector discussed the play activities and children's learning during the inspection and undertook a joint observation of an activity. n The views and opinions of the staff, children and parents were taken into account during the inspection. n A sample of documentation was viewed by the inspector.

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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

23 November 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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