Best Friends Day Nursery Chester Limited

Inspection of Best Friends Day Nursery Chester Limited Carlton House, Lightfoot Street, Hoole, Chester CH2 3AD

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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 relish the time they spend in this safe and friendly nursery. They are energetic and motivated learners. To illustrate, quickly after arriving, children immediately explore toys and activities with enthusiasm and excitement. Staff prepare an engaging environment to support children's all-round learning. Children clearly enjoy this fun and stimulating nursery, giggling and laughing as they play. Staff help children to enjoy reading and literacy. They successfully use humour and energy to deliver inspiring story sessions. Children are encouraged to join in familiar and repetitive parts of stories. Staff model language, pause and discuss illustrations, and children anticipate what will happen next. Children show good listening skills and concentration when reading. Furthermore, children benefit from a well-stocked library. They are encouraged to choose and borrow books. This helps to support continued learning at home.

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The provision is good

Staff encourage children to complete tasks for themselves. They wait for children to have a go and offer plenty of encouragement to foster children's resilience. For instance, children are encouraged to wash their plates in warm soapy water after eating. Children relish this additional responsibility and stand tall when they have completed this independent task. Children are self-assured, confident and independent. Children's health is well promoted. They enjoy a nutritious menu and benefit from a freshly cooked, hot meal each day. Kitchen staff lead activities with children, such as baking. This helps children to appreciate where their food comes from and contributes to their positive attitude to healthy eating. Recipes are sent home to encourage parents to prepare balanced and economical meals for their children at home. Furthermore, mealtimes are a wonderfully social experience within the nursery. Children sit together and talk about their day, extending their

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The provision is good

social skills and continuing to foster their love of mealtimes and healthy food.

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need to do better?

n The leaders and managers of the nursery have worked with determination over recent months to improve standards. Since the last inspection, they have benefited from support and guidance from outside agencies, such as local authority quality advisers. This has helped to move the nursery forward, and the quality of service offered is now consistently good. n Leaders implement a rigorous programme of professional development for staff. Training, coupled with coaching and mentoring, helps to build staff's confidence and raise the quality of teaching. n Staff plan a broad and balanced curriculum, and children's all-round learning is well promoted. Staff include a mix of planned activities and spontaneous play in the daily timetable. Furthermore, specialist teachers, such as music and sports coaches, visit the nursery to deliver group sessions each week. This extra-

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need to do better?

5 February 2025 curricular programme of teaching helps to enrich children's learning experiences. n Staff observe children continually and track their progress. They know what children can do and understand gaps in their learning. However, sometimes, staff identify next steps that are too challenging and do not build on what children already know. This means that, occasionally, teaching and learning are not sequenced effectively on a secure foundation of prior skills and knowledge. n Staff's well-being is nurtured. Designated 'well-being officers' act as champions for staff. They offer support to help ensure that staff remain happy and fulfilled in their roles. This creates a culture where all staff feel valued and, in turn, contributes to their dedication to the children they care for. n Senior leaders' vision for this nursery is to be a home-from-home, nurturing space where children and wider family members can flourish. The staff and

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need to do better?

leaders are accomplishing this vision through a truly inclusive approach. For instance, parents benefit from a dedicated family room where they are able to access computers and complementary tea and coffee. This is an inclusive and welcoming nursery, where everyone's needs are met. n Staff are good role models for children. They are polite and respectful in their interactions. Staff regularly remind children the importance of good manners, such as encouraging them to say 'please' and 'thank you'. Children are polite, courteous and helpful. n Staff help new children to settle into the nursery when they first start attending. However, systems to share information between staff when children move through the nursery are not always effective. Children's learning is sometimes interrupted as their transition between rooms is not always managed effectively. n Strong partnerships with parents are a notable strength of this setting. Parents

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need to do better?

are highly complimentary. A parent comments, 'As a parent, I couldn't ask for a more enriching and caring environment for my child. The nursery feels like and extension of our family, providing a setting where my child is truly thriving.'

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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 ensure that staff identify age-appropriate next steps to support children's sequenced learning, building on what they already know and can do n develop systems to enable staff to share their expert knowledge about children when they move from one room to another to enable the new key worker to support learning without interruption.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 2683500 Local authority Cheshire West and Chester Inspection number 10343557 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 51 Number of children on roll 62 Name of registered person Best Friends Day Nursery Chester Limited

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reference number

Telephone number 01244341057 Date of previous inspection 17 April 2024

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Information about this early years setting

Best Friends Day Nursery Chester Limited registered in 2021. The nursery employs 15 members of childcare staff. Of whom, three hold an appropriate early years qualification at level 2 and nine staff hold qualifications at level 3 or above. The nursery opens Monday to Friday, from 7.15am until 6.15pm, for 51 weeks a year. The nursery offers the government funded places for childcare.

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Inspection activities

n The provider, the manager and the inspector completed a learning walk together. They discussed how the early years foundation stage curriculum is designed and the intent for children's learning. n The manager and the inspector completed a joint observation of an activity and discussed the quality of teaching and learning observed. n The inspector considered verbal and written comments from parents n The manager provided a range of documentation upon request. The inspector sampled key documentation, including suitability checks for all staff working in the nursery. n The inspector observed interactions between staff and children and evaluated the impact on children's development.

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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

5 February 2025 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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