St Paul's Nursery

Inspection of St Paul's Nursery 119a Walton Street, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX2 6AH

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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 demonstrate that they are happy as they arrive at the nursery, and they show that they feel safe as they separate confidently from their parents at the door. Children are eager to play and explore, and they enjoy the activities set out for them by staff. Children receive a good amount of support from staff. Children show they are making good progress from their starting points, which is commended by parents.

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The provision is good

Effective key-person arrangements are in place. Staff gain a comprehensive amount of information about children's backgrounds and individual needs when children first start with them. This helps them to support their interests and include unique aspects about the children and their families within their day. For example, staff sing dual-language songs during the day to enable children to hear and use their home language within the nursery. Overall, staff provide consistent and effective interactions for children.

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The provision is good

Staff build children's independence effectively. Young children are supported to pour their drinks and older children are seen to scrape their plates clean after they have finished their meal. Staff promote children's confidence and self-esteem effortlessly through effective praise.

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need to do better?

n The management team works well with the staff to provide a good-quality learning provision for the children. Overall, the team reflects effectively on children's learning and adapts routines to meet the children's interests well. Staff are offered opportunities for training and supervision. However, the ongoing coaching and mentoring of staff is not seamlessly embedded to ensure that all staff follow policies and procedures linked to children's well-being meticulously. n Staff plan a curriculum that is fun and builds on what children already know. Children of all ages gain exceptional learning opportunities as the staff use the environment around them to ignite children's understanding of the world. For instance, children learn about community events and experiences as they go out in the community and explore in the nearby gardens, parks and museums. This helps children to learn about the world around them while being educated on

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need to do better?

road safety. n Children have many opportunities to explore sensory experiences inside and outside the nursery, which supports their creativity. For example, staff support babies and toddlers to be inquisitive as they explore with sand, foil paper and oats. Older children have fun with familiar objects in the role-play and dressing- up areas. All children benefit from stories, which are read well and support their listening, attention and speaking skills.

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need to do better?

12 November 2024 n Staff know and understand the educational intentions for activities and their key- children's next steps in learning. Children benefit from a wide range of activities that support their interests and promote learning. However, at times, some staff do not effectively focus their teaching to help deepen children's knowledge and engagement. This means that, on occasion, not all children are as well engaged in activities as others. At times, some children do not have enough time to think and express their own ideas as well as they could. n Children play well together and have clearly formed close attachments with staff, which helps them to feel secure. Children of all ages enjoy being physically active. They have fun as they explore outdoors, which allows them opportunities to climb, negotiate space and take part in imaginative play. Furthermore, activities such as playing at the park and yoga help children with their balance,

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need to do better?

coordination and motor skills. n Partnerships with parents are highly effective. Parents speak favourably of the nursery staff and the high quality care that they have put in place to support their children's health, learning and development. Parents receive information about their child's learning and progress. This, along with meetings and discussions with staff, helps them to understand how they can support their children's development at home.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

There is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children's interests first.

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should:

n support staff to consider how to engage all children during activities and allow children more time to problem solve to develop their critical-thinking skills n strengthen methods of coaching and mentoring to further enhance and build on the quality of staff practice to even higher levels.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 134024 Local authority Oxfordshire Inspection number 10367374 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 16 Number of children on roll 15 Name of registered person Somerville College

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reference number

Telephone number 01865 270686 Date of previous inspection 6 February 2019

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Information about this early years setting

St Paul's Nursery registered in 1992. It is open each weekday from 8.45am to 5.15pm, all year round, except for two weeks at Christmas. There are eight members of staff who work with the children. Of these, seven hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 or above, including two who are qualified to level 6. The nursery accepts funding for the provision of free early education for children.

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Inspection activities

n The manager and the inspector completed a learning walk across all areas of the nursery to understand how the early years provision and the curriculum are organised. n The inspector observed activities in the three main base rooms and garden. She talked to staff about the progress individual children are making and what they want the children to learn. n The manager and the inspector completed a joint observation of an activity together and discussed the quality of teaching and learning afterwards. n The inspector checked evidence of the suitability and qualifications of staff working with children. n Children spoke to the inspector about the activities they took part in. n The inspector spoke to parents and children during the inspection and took account of their views. n The inspector reviewed relevant documentation, including the arrangements for paediatric first-aid training. The inspector had a discussion with the manager

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Inspection activities

about the evaluation of the setting and plans for improvement.

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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

12 November 2024 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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