The Laurels Child Care

Inspection of The Laurels Child Care Laurel Avenue, The Woodlands, Durham DH1 2EY

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

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

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The provision is outstanding

Children are incredibly happy, safe and secure at this extremely welcoming and friendly nursery. They arrive eager to explore and learn. Staff plan exceptional opportunities to help all children make excellent progress in their learning. Babies thrive in a calm, stimulating environment, where their individual needs are met precisely. They have incredible fun while enjoying sensory experiences. Children giggle with delight as they run cars and trains through flour and cocoa powder. Staff expertly point out the marks they make. Children's behaviour is impeccable. They are extremely polite, show kindness and are respectful towards each other. Children help each other, without being prompted. For example, when children need help to balance on blocks, their friends swiftly jump in and hold out their hands to help them balance.

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The provision is outstanding

Children love to be outside, whatever the weather. They are curious, motivated and show a very positive attitude to their learning. During the inspection, they became fascinated by the recent snowfall. Staff seized the opportunity to build on their interest to maximise their learning. They froze buckets of water and pumpkins. Staff discussed the change in the weather and how they might break the ice. Children develop superb resilience and strong thinking skills. They showed great delight in using small hammers to try to break the ice. There is superb support for children's physical development. Children regularly access forest school, where they climb trees, jump in puddles and build dens in their 'base camp'. Children learn how to cook by the campfire, relishing making soup and cheese toasties. Children demonstrate that they understand the safety rules. For example, they explain that they need to stay safe around the fire pit.

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need to do better?

n The leadership team is inspirational. The manager and her team are passionate, dedicated and committed in their drive to continuously improve the setting. The manager has a detailed knowledge of the skills and strengths across the team and considers these carefully when deploying staff. A high emphasis is placed on staff's well-being. Staff benefit from regular meetings to support their practice, and they continuously reflect and disseminate information from their training sessions. Incisive self-evaluation is highly effective. n Partnerships with parents are exceptional. Parents are very eager to share highly positive feedback about the nursery. They describe staff as 'amazing' and say that they 'truly care' about their children. Parents attend 'Young, wild and three' workshops, where they learn about the benefits of outdoor play. Staff record themselves reading the story of the week and share these online. This inspires

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need to do better?

parents to support their children's learning at home. n Support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities is superb.

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need to do better?

14 December 2022 Staff diligently monitor children's progress to identify developmental gaps in their learning. They develop meticulous early support plans and make swift referrals to ensure that children's individual needs are quickly met. The team work closely with a wide range of professionals, such as speech and language therapists and health visitors, to make sure that children make the best possible progress. n Staff are excellent role models. They encourage children to be respectful, take turns and help others. Staff have high expectations of all the children in their care. This results in very calm and happy children, who are developing positive attitudes to each other and to their learning. n Staff are inspirational teachers and have exceptional knowledge of child development and the skills children need for future learning. They know their key children exceptionally well. Staff continuously assess what children know

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need to do better?

and can do, planning precisely for their next steps in learning. Children relish learning about nature and wildlife. They observe the changes in the seasons and watch acorns 'germinate'. Children explain that birds need food during winter, and they make bird feeders out of pumpkin shells, seeds and lard. This leads to children developing an excellent knowledge of the world around them. n Staff support children to develop superb communication skills. They provide a language-rich environment, where communication is paramount. Staff ask children thought-provoking questions and encourage children to be inquisitive problem solvers. Staff deliver daily intervention programmes, to help develop children's early communication skills. Children who speak English as an additional language are well supported. Staff gather significant words in children's home languages to further support children's communication skills.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Children are exceptionally well protected because the leadership team implements comprehensive safeguarding procedures. Robust recruitment procedures, staff induction and supervision processes help to ensure that staff are suitable. All staff have undertaken safeguarding training. They have a superior knowledge of the possible signs of abuse and are very confident of the reporting procedures. Leaders ensure that staff keep their safeguarding knowledge up to date. For example, the manager regularly asks staff safeguarding scenarios, and staff discuss safeguarding updates in every staff meeting. All staff have an exemplary understanding of safeguarding, including the 'Prevent' duty legislation, female genital mutilation, faith-based abuse and county lines.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY337804 Local authority Durham Inspection number 10229337 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 34 Number of children on roll 59 Name of registered person The Laurels Child Care Company Ltd

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reference number

Telephone number 01913849795 Date of previous inspection 1 February 2017

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Information about this early years setting

The Laurels Child Care registered in 2006. The nursery employs 11 members of childcare staff, all of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 or above, including two with early years qualifications at level 6. The nursery opens from Monday to Friday, all year round. Sessions are from 8am 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 their evaluation of the nursery. n A learning walk was conducted by the manager and the inspector. They discussed the learning environment and how the curriculum is organised. n The inspector observed the quality of education during activities, indoors and outdoors, and assessed the impact on children's learning. n The manager and teacher met with the inspector and discussed the leadership of the setting. The inspector reviewed a range of documents, such as the setting's self-evaluation and evidence of the suitability of staff working in the nursery. n The inspector spoke to parents during the inspection and took account of their views. n The inspector spoke to staff and children throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

n The inspector carried out a joint observation of a group activity with the manager.

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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

14 December 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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