Guinea Lane Nursery

Inspection of Guinea Lane Nursery St Mary's Hall, Guinea Lane, BATH BA1 5NB

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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

Leaders have clear intentions for what they want children to learn. They place focus on the prime areas of learning, helping children to develop the skills they need to become confident learners. Babies excitedly pull themselves up and manoeuvre their bodies onto age-appropriate climbing equipment. This helps to strengthen their stability and coordination, in preparation for walking. Younger children draw around small blocks, helping to build their hand strength. This supports children to refine the skills they need for early writing. Children shine with independence and staff support this from an early age. Staff encourage younger children to put on their bibs, and older children beam with pride, as they complete self-care tasks, saying, 'I done it all by myself.' Children progress well in their learning and development.

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The provision is good

Leaders and staff have high expectations for children's behaviour. Staff are positive role models, and they reinforce good manners. Staff encourage older children to begin to take responsibility for tasks, such as helping to set up for mealtimes. This supports children's confidence. Staff recognise the importance of children feeling emotionally secure, as a foundation for their successful play and learning. The well- established key-person system helps all children to form strong and secure attachments with the caring staff. This approach promotes children's emotional well-being.

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need to do better?

n Staff have good awareness of how children learn. They use observations and assessments well to identify children's interests and next steps in learning. Staff plan exciting and varied activities that they know children will enjoy. For example, younger children scoop up pasta, and babies explore the texture of dough. However, at times, particularly for younger children, these are not targeted enough to children's individual next steps in learning. This means, on occasions, children lose focus, and their learning is not maximised. n Overall, children become confident communicators. Staff who work with older children support their communication skills effectively and extend their vocabulary during regular conversations. Babies gaze in awe and begin to copy actions during song time, as staff sing and use facial expressions to capture their attention. However, at times, some staff who work with babies do not

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need to do better?

consistently talk to them about what they are doing, as they play and explore. As a result, this limits babies exposure to new words. n Staff support children to develop their understanding of mathematical concepts from an early age. Babies show an interest in simple puzzles, and younger children enjoy confidently counting their towers from one to five. Staff use language such as 'estimate' as children guess how many salt dough doughnuts

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need to do better?

10 March 2025 are on the tray. Children develop good early maths skills. n Overall, outside, staff deploy themselves well. Staff extend an earlier recycling activity and purposefully drop varied materials, such as plastic bottles. Older children excitedly run around to find these, shouting out the material. Children begin to understand how to respect their environment. Children have fun riding bikes and attempt to use the slope to go faster. However, space is limited, and there are too many resources in a small area to enable children to fully benefit from the learning opportunities. This means that, at times, children struggle to maintain their focus on learning. n Staff plan a variety of outings to enhance children's understanding of the world. Children enjoy nature walks, trips to the local park and botanical gardens. Staff celebrate children's cultures, and older children share these with their peers,

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need to do better?

helping children to learn about equality and diversity. n Leaders use self-reflection to positively impact on the overall quality of care and learning. For example, a recent revamp of an unused area of the garden now provides children with a specific area for planting. This will deepen their understanding of planting and growing. Additionally, this space provides an outside area for staff on their breaks, supporting their well-being. Leaders provide opportunities for staff to enhance their knowledge. Recent training on 'weaning' has helped staff feel more confident when supporting parents and babies through this process. n Partnerships with parents are good. Parents feel well informed about their child's learning. They notice the progress children make, particularly in their mathematics and social development. Parents comment on the diverse food choices children have and relay that staff are kind, caring and approachable.

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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 plan more precisely for younger children's individual next steps, helping to maximise their learning n strengthen support given to less experienced staff working with babies to ensure that interactions support babies' emerging communication skills n ensure that staff deploy themselves effectively to make full use of the outdoor areas, helping children to sustain focus on the intended learning opportunities.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY428181 Local authority Bath and North East Somerset Council Inspection number 10390755 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 58 Number of children on roll 104 Name of registered person Guinea Lane Nursery Limited

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reference number

Telephone number 01225487858 Date of previous inspection 16 September 2019

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Information about this early years setting

Guinea Lane Nursery registered in 2011 and operates from St. Mary's Church Hall in the centre of Bath. It is open each weekday, from 7.30am to 6.30pm, for 51 weeks of the year. The nursery employs 24 staff who work directly with the children. Of whom, four members of staff hold an appropriate childcare qualification at level 6, eight hold appropriate childcare qualifications at level 3, two hold appropriate childcare qualifications at level 2 and there are 10 unqualified members of staff. The setting offers government funded places.

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Inspection activities

n The manager joined the inspector on a learning walk and talked to the inspector about their curriculum and what they want their children to learn. n The inspector observed the quality of teaching and carried out a joint observation with the manager. n The inspector spoke to several parents and children during the inspection and took account of their views. n The inspector spoke to staff at convenient times and assessed their safeguarding knowledge. n The special educational needs coordinator spoke to the inspector about how they support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. n A meeting was held between the inspector and the manager to discuss leadership. n The inspector looked at relevant documentation and reviewed evidence of the suitability of staff working in 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

10 March 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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