Yellow Wellies

Inspection of Yellow Wellies 9 Kensington, Cockton Hill Road, BISHOP AUCKLAND, County Durham DL14 6HX

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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 Requires improvement

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The provision is good

Children enjoy their time at this welcoming nursery. They have close attachments with their key person and develop a strong sense of belonging. Staff are very kind and caring towards children and tend to their individual needs well. This supports children's emotional well-being. Children's behaviour is good. Changes to the play areas, routines and the deployment of staff mean that staff have more time to support children's understanding of good behaviour. For example, staff demonstrate friendly, caring conversations and constantly praise children to boost their confidence and self-esteem. Children talk about how they are feeling and describe their emotions. They play in a calm learning environment, inside and outdoors.

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The provision is good

Children have great fun and are motivated to learn. Babies are fascinated by their reflection in mirrors and squeal in delight when they recognise themselves. They eagerly explore how they can make plastic ducks spin and squirt in water play, and enjoy splashing the cheery staff. Older children spend time outside recreating an Easter egg hunt and hide pretend eggs all around the garden. They help each other find them, swap their favourite colours and count and compare what is in their baskets. These experiences help children to build on their existing knowledge and to develop new skills ready for school.

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need to do better?

n The new owners and current managers have a strong drive to improve the quality of the nursery and have worked hard to make many changes. These are having a positive impact on all children's care and learning, including those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff interact well with children. They encourage them to keep trying, ask questions and pose challenges as they play. n Overall, the curriculum is planned and organised effectively. The managers are clear about what they want children to learn. They check the learning intention of activities with staff and discuss planning ideas, in particular to aid those children from disadvantaged households to be ready for school. However, some aspects of the curriculum are being reviewed even further to ensure that all staff know the order in which children learn new skills. This is to ensure that children's learning is even better sequenced throughout the whole nursery.

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need to do better?

n The experienced special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) recognises when children need extra support. She finds out about available advice and funding swiftly. The SENCo works with staff to create individual plans and to organise small-group times to help children to make good progress. Staff work closely with parents and external professionals. A shared agreement is used in the nursery and at home, to help children catch up and support their ongoing

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need to do better?

27 March 2023 development. n Partnerships with parents are a strength of the nursery. Parents' feedback is highly complimentary. They say that staff support the whole family, not just their children. Parents recognise the importance of working in partnership to support their children's learning and development, and value the opportunities they have to contribute. They say that their children talk about staff with great warmth. Parents comment that staff foster children's love of books at home. n Staff use consistently good modelling and give messages to support children's growing understanding of good personal hygiene skills. They regularly discuss the importance of hygiene to stay healthy, including oral health. Older children remind their friends about the importance of drinking water when they are thirsty. This helps children's personal development. n Leaders encourage staff to attend training to extend their teaching skills further.

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need to do better?

For instance, since the last inspection, staff have attended a course on how to create language-rich environments for children. This has had an immediate effect on children's growing vocabulary and imagination skills. n Children have good opportunities to learn about their local community. They regularly share in local events. For example, children enjoyed a trip to a railway museum. They sing songs outside a local care home to the residents. However, at times, staff are not as effective as they could be in supporting children to extend their understanding of equality and diversity. They sometimes do not extend children's understanding of the world when they ask questions about people and places that interest them.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders and staff have a clear knowledge of the safeguarding and welfare requirements. They understand that they must always be vigilant and have a duty to prevent children being drawn into situations that put them at risk. Staff know the nursery's procedures to follow to keep children safe from harm at all times. Staff make sure that all areas of the nursery that children access are safe for them to use. They act quickly to identify and remove any potential hazards to children. Leaders have effective procedures for the recruitment and selection of staff.

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should:

n continue to implement the curriculum with even more precision, to sequence and build the knowledge and skills that children need to acquire n enrich opportunities for children to learn about similarities and differences between themselves and others in their communities, as well as different cultures.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 2587403 Local authority Durham Inspection number 10238829 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Registers

Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register Day care type Full day care

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inspection

Total number of places 100 Number of children on roll 81 Name of registered person Daypark Ltd

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reference number

Telephone number 01388 603862 Date of previous inspection 7 April 2022

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Information about this early years setting

Yellow Wellies registered in 2020 and is located in the Bishop Auckland area of Durham. It is one of several nurseries operated by Daypark Ltd. The nursery is open from 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, all year round, except for bank holidays and one week at Christmas. It employs 13 childcare staff. Of these, two hold a relevant early years qualification at level 6, one holds level 4 and eight hold an early years qualification at level 3. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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Inspection activities

n The inspector discussed any continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic with the provider and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the setting. n The inspector completed a learning walk with the managers and discussed the early years curriculum. This was in all areas of the nursery, including outdoors. n The inspector observed the quality of education being provided and assessed the impact on children's learning. n The inspector carried out a joint observation of a small group activity with one of the managers. n The inspector spoke with several parents and children during the inspection and took account of their views. Written feedback from parents was also considered. n Leaders, management and staff provided the inspector with a sample of key documents on request. n The SENCo spoke to the inspector about how they support children with SEND.

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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

27 March 2023 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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