The Nature Den Nursery

Inspection of The Nature Den Nursery Bramford Lane, Ipswich, Suffolk IP1 5BS

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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 Not applicable

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The provision is good

Children demonstrate that they feel settled and secure in this nurturing nursery. They receive a warm welcome from friendly staff who show a genuine interest in the children and their families. New children settle quickly and form strong emotional attachments with their key person. The staff team has created a rich, inviting environment, both inside and outside. It provides a familiar learning space for the youngest children and appropriate challenge for the most able children. Children enthusiastically explore the environment and can easily select the toys they want to use from low-level shelves. They use tools such as scissors with confidence and explore the properties of mud, sand and water during play.

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The provision is good

Children have plenty of opportunities to develop their self-care skills and independence. Younger children are supported to wash their hands. Older children independently access drinks and use knives to cut fruit for snack. Children learn to be kind and considerate as they follow the examples set by staff. They learn to play happily together and receive gentle support when they find taking turns difficult. Staff are ambitious for all children. They work closely with families and other agencies to provide additional support when this is needed. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make good progress.

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need to do better?

n Managers ensure that staff understand what they intend children to learn and achieve from their overall time at nursery. Using their good knowledge of typical child development, staff plan effectively to provide a broad range of experiences. For example, children learn about cause and effect as they explore what happens when they mix flour and water together. However, during some adult- led group times, staff do not maximise on opportunities to capture and maintain children's interests. n Staff identify gaps in learning early on and use a range of effective strategies to support all children to achieve, regardless of their starting points. Children benefit from the manager and staff's effective working relationships with external professionals. They are considerate and inclusive in their practice. For example, the family support officer carries out weekly nurturing sessions. n Staff use positive praise to build children's self-esteem and help children as they

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need to do better?

learn practical life skills, such as serving themselves healthy foods at snack time, tidying away toys and learning about looking after their teeth. n The staff team uses repetitive themes to consolidate children's learning. Staff capture children's interest as they use mirrors to talk about their individual features, create faces out of clay with a range of materials and skilfully introduce concepts such as 'long' and 'short' when talking about hair length.

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need to do better?

7 September 2022 n Overall, staff support children's emerging communication and language skills well. Staff continuously introduce new vocabulary as children play and use repetition to reinforce children's understanding. However, on occasion, staff do not consistently use skilful questioning techniques to encourage critical thinking which would extend children's learning further. n Leaders and managers are ambitious for the nursery. They regularly review the provision to enhance children's experiences. Staff report high levels of well-being and support, including regular supervision sessions and opportunities to develop their interests. Staff meetings are held monthly to share experiences and develop practice. n Parents are very positive about the nursery and staff. They comment that they feel well informed about their child's day and their progress in learning. Parents state that their children are happy to attend and that they have grown in

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need to do better?

confidence and independence. They believe their children are safe and well cared for. n Children who receive additional funding are well supported. Staff know the children well and use the funds to extend children's learning opportunities. For example, a 'well-being corner' has been created, providing children with opportunities to relax and time to explore sensory materials to support emotions.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Managers take their safeguarding duties very seriously. All staff receive regular safeguarding and paediatric first-aid training. They have a secure knowledge of wider safeguarding issues and know the procedures to follow should they have any safeguarding concerns. The premises are safe and secure. Robust recruitment procedures ensure all those working with children are suitable, and there are effective systems in place to review the ongoing suitability of staff. All of this helps to keep children safe from harm.

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should:

n improve the way staff organise adult-led small-group times to ensure children's learning is not interrupted n build on staff questioning skills to allow children to extend their critical thinking and follow through their ideas.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY553383 Local authority Suffolk Inspection number 10174155 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 36 Number of children on roll 29 Name of registered person Bows and Arrows

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reference number

Telephone number 01473 599038 Date of previous inspection Not applicable

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Information about this early years setting

The Nature Den Nursery registered in 2017. The nursery employs seven members of childcare staff. Of these, six hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2 and above. The nursery opens from Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, term time only. 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 provider 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 their evaluation of the provider. n The inspector carried out a learning walk with the manager to understand how the early years provision and curriculum are organised. n The inspector observed the quality of education during activities and assessed the impact this has on children's learning. n The inspector completed a joint observation with the manager. n The inspector looked at relevant documentation and evidence of the suitability of staff working in the setting. n The inspector carried out discussions throughout the inspection with the managers, staff and children. n The views of parents were taken into consideration by engaging a number of them in discussion.

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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

7 September 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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