Westwood Smarties

Inspection of Westwood Smarties Grasmere Crescent, Eccles, MANCHESTER M30 8DN

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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 have a lovely experience at this home-from-home nursery. They arrive eager to play and confidently separate from parents. Staff are nurturing and get to know children well. They have a good understanding of children's likes and routines, particularly those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff recognise that some children benefit from time in the sensory room before they enter the classroom and adapt their routine accordingly. This promotes children's emotional well-being and helps them to feel happy at nursery.

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The provision is good

Children access an ambitious curriculum that helps them to develop a positive attitude to learning. Younger children concentrate intently as they break open blocks of ice to find sea animals. They use their problem-solving skills to work out that hitting the ice with pebbles breaks it up more quickly than waiting for it to melt. Staff introduce a range of vocabulary, such as 'hard', 'dripping', and 'shiny' to help children describe what they see and feel. Older children are keen to take part in dough activities. They skilfully create structures and are resilient when learning how to form small dough balls in the palms of their hands. Children are motivated learners who are well prepared for the next stage of learning.

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need to do better?

n Overall, leaders provide children with a broad and inclusive curriculum tailored to their needs and interests. They understand how to sequence the curriculum effectively to support children's age and stage of development. However, the curriculum for literacy development is not promoted as well as the other areas of learning, particularly in the outdoor area. This does not help some children to develop their literacy skills in the environment that they learn best. n Robust procedures for monitoring children's development help staff to identify gaps in learning at the earliest opportunity. Staff implement targeted planning for children who have fallen behind, and leaders make timely referrals to outside agencies. Children with SEND benefit from individual plans to prevent gaps widening while they wait for outside input. They are very well settled at the nursery and make good progress from their starting points.

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need to do better?

n Staff promote children's communication and language development well. They talk to children a lot and engage them in back-and-forth conversations. Older children are confident communicators. They chat about their home life offering intricate details, such as the colour of their sofa and how many toys they have. For children who do not communicate verbally, staff use lots of gestures and at times, objects to help them understand. This helps all children to make good progress in their learning. n Promoting children's independence is a strength across the nursery. Younger

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need to do better?

19 June 2025 children swap their shoes for slippers and work hard to put on their own socks. Older children serve their own food using tongues, pour their own drinks and wash their hands. Children demonstrate a great deal of confidence and are eager to do things for themselves. n Staff help children to understand about positive behaviour. They provide lots of opportunities for children to learn about sharing and taking turns. Staff model good manners, which children then copy. Children follow staff instructions well, particularly at tidy-up time. They know what is expected of them at nursery and behave well. n Mathematical development is well promoted. Staff provide opportunities for children to recognise and match different colours. Younger children skilfully count from one to 10 with one-for-one correspondence. Staff introduce mathematical language, such as 'more', 'less', 'long' and 'short' when playing

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need to do better?

with dough. This broadens children's vocabulary and increases their confidence with number. n Staff teach children about some of the things that help them to stay safe. They remind children that the warm weather can make them dehydrated and that they need to drink lots of water. Staff talk to children about sun safety and the purpose of sun cream. This develops children's understanding of good health and promotes their well-being. n Parents are happy with the quality of care provided. They are kept up to date with information about children's development and ideas of how learning can be extended at home. Leaders accompany parents to children's outside professional appointments to offer support and reassurance. This provides consistency between home and nursery. n The staff team are happy and feel supported in their roles. Leaders observe staff practice and offer feedback. However, there are some gaps in staff's

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need to do better?

understanding of how they can build on their own skills and not all of them have targets for improvement. As such, there are inconsistencies in the quality of interactions across the team.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The is a positive culture around safeguarding that puts children's interests first.

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should:

n enhance the curriculum for literacy development, particularly in the outdoor area, to further support those children who prefer to learn outdoors n strengthen the procedures for professional development to help staff improve their skills and provide more consistency in the quality of interactions.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY387511 Local authority Salford Inspection number 10371659 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 44 Number of children on roll 37 Name of registered person Westwood Smarties Committee

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reference number

Telephone number 0161 7891975 Date of previous inspection 23 September 2024

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Information about this early years setting

Westwood Smarties registered in 2008. It is situated in the Winton area of Eccles and is managed by a committee. The nursery employs nine members of childcare staff, of whom eight hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 and above. The nursery opens Monday to Friday, term time only. Sessions are from 9.20am to 2.45pm. The nursery provides government funded places for childcare and receives specific funding for disadvantaged children.

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Inspection activities

n The deputy manager, manager and inspector completed a learning walk together of all areas of the nursery and discussed the early years curriculum. n Children told the inspector about their friends and what they like to do when they are at nursery. n Staff spoke to the inspector about how they support children with SEND. n The inspector observed the quality of education being provided, indoors and outdoors, and assessed the impact that this was having on children's learning. n Parents and carers shared their views of the nursery with the inspector. n The manager showed the inspector documentation to demonstrate the suitability of staff.

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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

19 June 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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