Beckermet Nursery CIO

Beckermet Nursery CIO

Unique reference number (URN): 2753458 Address: Beckermet Nursery, Mill Lane, Beckermet, Cumbria, CA21 2YD Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 23/10/2023 Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR Registered person: Beckermet Nursery

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, children are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect settings for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The setting has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not met: The setting has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Achievement Strong standard

Children are exceptionally well prepared for the next stage of their learning. They build their independence, resilience and social skills. Children's communication skills thrive throughout their journey. Babies engage in turn-taking and older children actively listen, express their ideas and confidently share their thoughts.

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Achievement Strong standard

Children make excellent progress through a carefully sequenced curriculum. Babies develop early concepts through sensory exploration. Older children enhance their physical skills with tools and outdoor climbing equipment. They test ideas, manage risk and demonstrate excellent coordination. Children build the confidence needed for the next stage of their education.

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Achievement Strong standard

Children develop their mathematical understanding deeply through hands-on experiences. Younger children count and line up chairs when singing 'The Wheels on the Bus', while older children explore balance and symmetry as they build pirate ships. They test how to make them float and discuss how shapes fit together. These experiences develop children's mathematical skills for future learning. Children become increasingly independent. They confidently manage their personal care needs, develop healthy routines and make choices that support their wellbeing.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Leaders prioritise regular attendance and understand its importance for children's learning, development and wellbeing. Staff manage children's behaviour highly effectively. They respond calmly and consistently, while considering children's individual needs and emotional triggers. Babies form secure attachments with their key person and settle well due to sensitive and personalised routines.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Staff model positive behaviour highly effectively. They use respectful communication, ensuring children's intentions are understood before responding. Staff are very good role models. For example, when disagreements arise, they calmly demonstrate how to use kind words, listen to others and work towards fair solutions. This helps children learn to manage conflict constructively.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Staff support children to recognise and express emotions and to regulate their behaviour. For example, when children become frustrated during a building activity, staff encourage them to talk about how they feel and suggest alternative ways to solve the problem. In addition, when children are unsure about joining a group activity, staff gently encourage them, helping them to build confidence and engage with others.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Staff use daily routines highly effectively to promote independence and social skills. For instance, during tidy-up time, children work together, follow instructions and take responsibility for resources. Children are engaged, motivated and curious learners. They listen carefully, follow instructions and show consistently positive attitudes to their learning.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Leaders and staff prioritise children's welfare and wellbeing, tailoring care to meet each child's individual needs. They foster an environment where every child feels valued and respected. Staff understand children exceptionally well, adjusting routines to their age, development and needs. This ensures children flourish in a nurturing and inclusive environment, where all children feel safe and secure.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Children form trusting relationships with staff. They confidently seek comfort and support when needed. New starters settle rapidly, becoming familiar with routines and expectations. Staff recognise babies' early communication cues, responding with sensitivity to their babbling, gestures and emotions. Older children build on these foundations, expressing themselves confidently and developing a deep sense of belonging.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Staff are proficient at guiding children to recognise, express and regulate their emotions. They model calm behaviour, acknowledge feelings and offer reassurance. Children demonstrate positive attitudes towards each other and their learning. For instance, younger children share resources and take turns in the sandpit, while older children collaborate during mark-making. When conflicts arise, staff guide children to express emotions and resolve disagreements through discussion. They foster a positive and empathetic approach to relationships.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Safe routines are followed for babies, particularly regarding sleeping, weaning and feeding. Staff adhere to safe sleeping guidelines rigorously. They adapt routines carefully to meet children's individual needs. Staff promote healthy eating through home-cooked meals and nutritious snacks. They review and adapt policies based on expert health advice, ensuring children's health and safety. Children embrace appropriate risks and challenges in their play and learning. For example, they build road safety awareness through community walks. This helps children to learn essential safety behaviours and future life skills.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Leaders have established a highly ambitious curriculum with clear and shared expectations. They focus on developing confident, independent, enthusiastic and resilient learners. Assessment and monitoring are precise, identifying next steps to ensure children build securely on what they know and make excellent progress. Staff have a deep understanding of child development and carefully sequence learning from children's starting points. Teaching is responsive and tailored for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), as well as those facing barriers to learning.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Children, including babies, benefit from nurturing interactions and consistent routines that promote security and early communication. Staff balance child-initiated play with focused teaching, supporting physical development. For example, while exploring dough, children strengthen their hand and arm muscles to support them with dressing, manipulating tools and writing.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Staff embed mathematical teaching in children's play and routines. As children build towers, staff support counting, comparing sizes and recognising shapes. This is reinforced during

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Expected standard

snack time when children select fruit and count portions. Babies develop early mathematical awareness through language such as 'more', 'all gone', 'big' and 'small'.

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Expected standard

Teaching is highly effective. Staff use skilful questioning to deepen children's understanding and promote problem-solving. They support communication and language through rich interactions, gestures and props. Support for children who speak English as an additional language is very effective. Staff work closely with parents and carers to share key words in children's home languages, ensuring continuity and language development. Well-sequenced story and song times foster children's early literacy, encouraging communication and social interaction. During storytelling, children respond to questions about characters and events, strengthening their recall and comprehension.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Staff and leaders are committed to identifying, assessing and meeting the needs of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), as well as those who face barriers to learning and wellbeing. They use effective strategies, including communication and language screening tools, to monitor children's development. Through observations and assessments, such as the progress check when children are aged between 2 and 3 years, staff identify gaps in children's learning. Leaders take swift action to reduce barriers and support children's development, ensuring children make rapid progress. Staff use targeted strategies to break children's learning into manageable steps and adjust group sizes to meet their individual needs.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Staff adapt routines and environments to ensure children's full engagement. For example, they use calm spaces, such as the sensory area, to help children to regulate their emotions. Staff adjust their support as children's needs evolve. Staff collaborate with external professionals to refine practice, particularly for children with SEND and other learning barriers.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Partnerships with parents and carers are highly effective. Leaders communicate clearly and work closely with families to support children's learning, individual needs and wellbeing. Leaders acknowledge they engage more successfully with some parents than others regarding their child's learning. They have not consistently enhanced parent partnerships by strengthening two-way communication, ensuring it is effective with all parents. This does not consistently support parents to collaborate with staff to assess and review their children's progress, plan next steps and agree on strategies. It also does not ensure all children, including those requiring additional support, receive consistent and inclusive education.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders ensure that the curriculum is inclusive and of consistently high quality. Staff skilfully ensure teaching is responsive and tailored for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. As a result, all children make wonderful progress in their learning and development from their starting points. Leaders are ambitious for all children and prioritise building trusting relationships with parents and carers, who highly value the staff and share how their children thrive at the setting. While parents speak highly of the nursery and staff, leaders recognise that engagement is more successful with some parents than others, particularly regarding their child's individual learning. Leaders have not consistently strengthened strategies to ensure two-way communication is equally effective with all families, encouraging full engagement in their children's learning.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Peer observation and supervision support staff development and confidence. Leaders prioritise safeguarding and strengthen staff knowledge through mentoring and policy refreshers. The team works effectively and is committed to achieving the best outcomes for children. Staff have access to relevant training to support their ongoing development. However, leaders have not yet fully established a sharply focused approach to wider professional development that builds on existing practice and develops staff expertise. Although leaders and staff evaluate strengths and areas for development generally effectively, they have not enhanced this further. For instance, staff do not consistently access training to extend their expertise or adopt innovative approaches to drive improvements. For example, systems to enhance family involvement, particularly for children requiring additional support, are not fully embedded. This limits how precisely

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

improvement planning is focused, reducing ongoing improvement for children, families and staff.

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Compulsory Childcare Register requirements

This setting has met the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register.

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Register

When we check if settings meet the Compulsory Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes:

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Voluntary Childcare Register requirements

This setting has met the requirements of the voluntary part of Childcare Register.

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Register

When we check if settings meet the Voluntary Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes:

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children quickly develop a sense of belonging in this warm and welcoming nursery. Staff provide a nurturing environment that enables every child to thrive and be ready to learn. All children form secure attachments with familiar staff. This is supported by a calm and positive atmosphere created through well-organised arrival routines and caring staff, who greet children warmly each day. Children settle swiftly, showing they are happy, confident and at ease. The environment is filled with laughter, chatter and smiles, reflecting children's enjoyment. Babies form close bonds with familiar adults and respond positively to the nurturing approach.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children's safety, wellbeing and sense of belonging are prioritised through a well-organised environment and thorough risk assessments. Staff respond sensitively, helping children to feel valued and understood. They support children to learn how to keep themselves safe. For example, during outdoor play, children use equipment appropriately and take turns. Consistent routines and deep relationships further strengthen children's confidence and emotional security.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children develop links with their local community. They visit the church and local reading rooms and take part in intergenerational activities, such as sending cards and singing carols. They attend village events, including the scarecrow festival. Effective links with the local primary school support children's transitions and enhance their confidence, social skills and sense of identity.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children learn across a broad curriculum that promotes their curiosity, exploration and engagement. For example, when playing with connecting bricks, they explore shape, space, design and early numbers. Outdoors, children use chalk to make marks and talk about their creations. This supports children's communication, early literacy and creativity. Staff support children to develop friendships through kindness and turn-taking. For example, they take

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About this setting

turns riding bicycles and crossing the outdoor bridge, and they share resources during group play.

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About this setting

Children's communication and thinking skills are supported through rich interactions. Staff engage them in meaningful conversations, modelling and extending language throughout play and daily routines. Gestures and visual cues support understanding. Babies show engagement through facial expressions and gestures, including raising their hands when asked where someone has gone.

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About this setting

Children are confident and motivated learners, who make independent choices and take responsibility in daily routines. At snack time, they use tongs to serve fruit, pour drinks and select from the options provided. Staff offer reassurance when needed and use calm spaces to support children to regulate their emotions. Children who require additional support benefit from adapted routines and resources that reflect their interests.

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Next steps

Leaders should strengthen strategies to engage all parents and carers in their children's learning and development, ensuring they are consistently involved in reviewing their progress and planning next steps and understand strategies to support their child's ongoing development. Leaders should provide staff with targeted professional development tailored to their roles and the specific needs of the children they support, empowering them to build expertise and acquire the ongoing skills necessary that prepare all children for their next stage of education, including school where appropriate.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with leaders, practitioners, the special educational needs coordinator, children, parents and carers during the inspection.

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About this inspection

We carried out the inspection under section 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards 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. Unique reference number (URN): 2753458

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Address:

Beckermet Nursery Mill Lane Beckermet Cumbria CA21 2YD

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:00 - 16:30

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Facts and figures used on inspection

This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other settings can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The setting reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The setting is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The setting needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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