Greyfriars Day Nursery

Inspection of Greyfriars Day Nursery Greyfriars Centre, 64 Friar Street, READING RG1 1EH

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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 are confident, happy and at ease in staff's care. They form positive relationships with staff and other children. Children become familiar with the daily routines and behaviour expectations. They gain a sense of responsibility. Toddlers help to tidy up their toys, and pre-school children help to set up the lunch tables. Pre-school children use their knowledge of mathematics during this task, counting and identifying how many items are needed for each table, for instance.

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The provision is good

Children explore and investigate activities and resources with interest. They sustain their focus and attention during their self-chosen play. For example, toddlers delight in exploring marbled sparkly dough with different objects, such as feathers and pipe cleaners. Children learn to make their own choices from a young age. Staff follow and support babies' interests. On the day of the inspection, babies were observed to follow their interest and enjoyed playing with dolls. They dressed these with adult support and then put them to bed, telling nearby adults, 'baby sleeping'.

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The provision is good

Overall, staff support children's learning and development effectively. They understand children's different learning needs and quickly identify if a child is not making expected progress. Staff implement individual education plans tailored to children's individual needs when needed. They seek and follow outside professional guidance and advice, to help promote children's progress. Staff use additional funding to meet the needs and interests of children. This includes purchasing outdoor equipment to support children's physical development.

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need to do better?

n Staff enjoy their work. They work together well as a team. Staff feel supported, and their well-being is considered with sensitivity by the management team. All staff, including the manager, receive regular supervision meetings to review their work. They complete regular professional development to support them to build on their skills and knowledge. n The manager and the senior leadership team have a good oversight of the nursery's quality. Regular communication, meetings and involvement from everyone contributes to this well. On occasion, there are some inconsistencies in staff practice. These are not always identified and addressed through the monitoring processes, to further improve the quality of the provision. n Staff and the management team promote good communication with parents and other professionals. There are positive strategies implemented to involve and support families. These include identifying external agencies, when appropriate,

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need to do better?

to provide additional support to parents. Parents positively comment on their experiences of using the nursery. They describe their children as being happy,

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need to do better?

22 November 2022 settled and making good progress at the nursery. Parents say that staff keep them updated about their child's day. n The manager and staff know and understand the skills and knowledge children need to gain to help them progress. They identify what children need to learn in their curriculum. This helps all children build on their skills and knowledge to prepare them for their future learning. The manager and staff have a good awareness that restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic may have had an impact on some children's development, affecting children's communication and language development, behaviour and social skills, for example. n Staff encourage children's communication and language development through good-quality, positive interactions with them. They talk to babies, toddlers and pre-school children consistently, to help build on their understanding and vocabulary. Pre-school children offer their ideas and views during discussions.

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need to do better?

Older toddlers and pre-school children are curious and interested learners. They are keen to seek out information from others, such as when they initiate discussions and ask questions. n Children enjoy sensory activities. They have fun exploring model animals in soil, leaves and straw. Children take part in group activities, including singing songs and listening to stories. At times, staff do not always manage and organise these as well as possible. For example, as pre-school children engaged in concentrating and listening to a story, they were interrupted to wash their hands before lunch. In addition, staff do not always recognise and respond when younger children lose interest during large group activities. n Staff support children's behaviour well and provide appropriate guidance and explanations. They understand individual children's behaviours and how to guide them sensitively. Children learn about how to keep themselves safe, such as

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need to do better?

using the stairs safely. Staff explore simple emotions with young children, such as talking about happy and sad faces. This helps children learn to recognise their own and other's feelings and emotions. Children receive positive praise and recognition from staff about their achievements, efforts and good behaviour. This promotes children's self-esteem and confidence effectively.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff understand their responsibilities to keep children safe. They complete risk assessments, including checking the outdoor area before it is used by children. Staff have a secure knowledge of indicators that would raise their concerns about children or staff. This includes recognising inappropriate staff behaviours and signs and symptoms children may display. Staff understand how to manage concerns should they arise. For instance, reporting any concerns to the designated safeguarding lead staff members or to external agencies. The management team follow robust staff recruitment and suitability processes. These checks ensure that staff are suitable to work with children when they first start, with regular reviews of their suitability thereafter.

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should:

n review how staff manage group activities and provide them with guidance and support, to help them promote children's learning as effectively as possible at these times, including recognising and responding appropriately to children's engagement n build on the monitoring of staff's quality of teaching to identify areas of their practice to develop, to help staff continually and consistently extend children's skills and knowledge even further.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY341447 Local authority Reading Inspection number 10261826 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 80 Number of children on roll 142 Name of registered person Greyfriars Ministries Ltd

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reference number

Telephone number 01189 589558 Date of previous inspection 4 April 2019

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Information about this early years setting

Greyfriars Day Nursery registered in 2006. It is affiliated to Greyfriars Church. The nursery is situated in the town centre of Reading, Berkshire. It is open Monday to Friday, from 8am to 6pm, all year round, except for a week at Christmas. The nursery also operates a holiday club for children aged three to eight years. The provider employs 21 staff to work with the children. Of these, 15 staff hold appropriate early years qualifications between level 2 and level 4. The provider receives funding to provide free early education for children aged two, three and four years.

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Inspection activities

n This was the first routine inspection the provider received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the provider and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the provider. n The manager explained the curriculum intentions to the inspectors. n The inspectors observed the quality of education being provided, indoors and outdoors, and assessed the impact that this was having on children's learning. n Discussions and meetings were held with the manager and staff during the inspection. n The manager and one of the inspectors observed and evaluated an activity together. n A sample of relevant documentation was reviewed, including evidence of the suitability of staff working in the nursery. n Children talked to the inspectors about their interests and activities. n Some parents discussed their views and provided feedback about the nursery.

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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 November 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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