Partou Willowdene Day Nursery & Pre-School

Inspection of Willowdene Day Nursery 116 Fairfield Road, Widnes, Cheshire WA8 6SJ

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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 arrive eager and happy to start their day. They have warm and trusting bonds with staff, who are kind and caring in their approach. Children new to the setting receive lots of cuddles and reassurance when needed. This helps them to settle quickly and grow in confidence in their new surroundings. Children benefit from a very warm and welcoming environment where they confidently play and explore. They are inquisitive and show a positive attitude towards learning and trying new things. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, staff have focused on supporting children's emotional and social skills. As a result, children are becoming confident and skilful communicators and are learning to play alongside others, share and take turns. They behave well and show kindness and concern for each other.

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The provision is good

Staff have high expectations of what children can achieve. Therefore, children make good progress, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Babies build on their curiosity as they play with flour and dough. Toddlers thoroughly enjoy filling and emptying containers in the sand and water. They make marks with different tools and build with blocks. Older children develop their fine motor skills in readiness for writing as they thread cereal onto spaghetti. They deepen their awareness of quantity as they make flowers and match the number of petals to the written number they have chosen.

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need to do better?

n Staff plan activities that reflect children's interests and span all areas of learning. Teaching is effective as staff enthusiastically play alongside children, which helps them to become excited and motivated to learn. Staff seek information from parents about their child's care routines, likes and dislikes. They successfully use this information to support children to settle quickly into nursery life. However, staff do not robustly gather precise information about children's existing abilities to enable them to plan for children's progress from the outset. n Staff place a strong emphasis on helping children to develop their confidence and well-being. They carefully plan children's transitions to new rooms and their eventual move to school by sharing information about children's backgrounds and their learning and development. However, on occasions, staff do not successfully support children's transitions between activities and routines. This

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need to do better?

means that children sometimes become restless and disengaged as they wait for the next activity or routine to begin. n Children of all ages show impressive self-care skills. Young children wash their hands independently and competently feed themselves at mealtimes. Older children skilfully pour their own drinks and are keen to help their friends. However, not all staff consistently model the nursery's hygiene routines. For

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need to do better?

20 April 2022 example, when staff wipe children's noses, they do not wash their own hands afterwards or reinforce the importance of doing so to help children understand the importance of good cleanliness. n Children have lots of opportunities to develop their problem-solving skills. Older children calculate how many knives and forks they will need as they help to set the table for lunch. Staff working with younger children continuously model mathematical language. They count as children build towers and talk about size as children explore objects. Children enjoy singing number songs and rhymes. They learn about quantity and begin sorting and categorising according to colour. n Children enjoy being physically active. They engage in energetic play outdoors on a daily basis regardless of the weather. Children develop their climbing skills and take safe and controlled risks as they strengthen their balance and

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need to do better?

coordination. They safely navigate the space available as they operate wheeled toys with confidence. Young children giggle as they hop, skip and jump along hopscotch marks that staff create on the ground. n Partnerships with parents are strong. Parents comment positively on the care and attention that staff give to their children. They share how their children enjoy attending and are proud of the progress that their children have made. Staff ensure that parents are kept well informed about their children's learning and development. They chat with parents at arrival and collection times and share a wealth of photos and information via a dedicated app.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff have a thorough understanding of their role and responsibility in protecting children from harm. Leaders make sure that staff complete regular training to ensure that they can confidently recognise potential symptoms and report any concerns. Staff describe the nursery's whistle-blowing procedures and wider safeguarding, issues such as the 'Prevent' duty. Robust recruitment and vetting procedures help to ensure that staff are suitable to work with children. Staff deploy themselves effectively and ensure that children are well supervised. They complete continuous risk assessments of all areas to ensure that children are able to play in a safe and secure environment.

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should:

n gather more precise information about children's existing skills and abilities, to further inform planning for learning from the outset n help staff to consider how they can support children effectively during transitions in their daily activities and routines so that they do not become restless and

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should:

20 April 2022 disengaged n support staff to understand the importance of consistently implementing and modelling the nursery's hygiene procedures.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY493487 Local authority Halton Inspection number 10230771 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 76 Number of children on roll 86 Name of registered person Just Childcare Limited

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reference number

Telephone number 0151 424 0282 Date of previous inspection 12 September 2016

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Information about this early years setting

Willowdene Day Nursery registered in 2015. The nursery employs 14 members of childcare staff. Of these, four hold qualifications at level 6, and six hold qualifications at level 3. The nursery opens from Monday to Friday all year round, except for a week at Christmas and bank holidays. Sessions are from 7.30am until 6pm. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year- old children.

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Inspection activities

n This was the first routine inspection the nursery received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the provider and has taken that into account in her evaluation of the nursery. n Discussions were held with parents, the manager and children at appropriate times throughout the inspection. n The manager and the inspector had a learning walk to discuss the curriculum intent and how the provision is organised. n The manager and the inspector jointly evaluated an activity. n The inspector reviewed a variety of documents, including evidence of the suitability of staff, qualifications, first-aid certificates, and policies and procedures. n The inspector observed interactions between the staff and children during activities and assessed the impact of teaching on children's learning.

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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

20 April 2022 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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