Brookside Nursery

Brookside Nursery

Unique reference number (URN): 2832974 Address: Brookside Community Primary School, Brooks Road, Street, BA16 0PR Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 14/03/2025 Registers: EYR Registered person: Bridgwater & Taunton College Trust

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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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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders and staff identify children's individual needs well and are wholeheartedly committed to reducing or removing barriers to learning. They maintain ambitious expectations for all children and meticulously plan strategic support and individual adaptations for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), children who are known or previously known to children's social care, disadvantaged children and those with other barriers to learning. Leaders consistently put thorough support plans in place and rigorously monitor the progress of children. This ensures the strategies and targets they have set are having a demonstrable impact on children's development and outcomes. Parents feel very well informed throughout this process. They praise and appreciate the progress their children have made and the skills they have learnt through targeted support at the setting.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders take a robust approach to ensuring children have the support they need for school, including applying for and finalising education, health and care plans for children who need them. Leaders and staff welcome external professionals to the setting so they can provide the best possible support for children with SEND and ensure there is a multi-agency approach for those with complex needs. This includes physiotherapists, occupational therapists and health visitors, who contribute to discussions and assessments, such as the progress check at age two.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders spend any additional funding, such as early years pupil premium, very effectively. They strategically plan how to use the funding. They ensure parents understand the plans they have created and the intended impact of these interventions. For example, staff attend specific training so they can fully support children's alternative communication methods, including the use of alternative communication devices that some children rely on. As a result, these children are able to confidently communicate their needs or thoughts to staff, who know the children very well. Leaders have introduced Makaton to the nursery, which also helps children with communication difficulties communicate more effectively with their peers. Leaders also provide opportunities for higher staff-to-child ratios for targeted support.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders support children who are known or previously known to children's social care and work thoroughly to protect children's safety and confidentiality.

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Achievement Expected standard

Overall, children, including those who may be disadvantaged, those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who are known or previously known to children's social care acquire appropriate knowledge and skills across the seven areas of learning. However, children are not always challenged in learning experiences, and, as a result, they sometimes become disengaged and move on to something else. Children communicate confidently with one another and with the staff who care for them. They share their thoughts and test their ideas out with one another confidently. For example, children positively choose to draw and write in the garden, excitedly sharing their pictures of animals, create narratives about them and make links to previous learning. Older children confidently write numbers and share them with their friends, who try to identify them. Staff prepare children well for the next stage of their development. They consider the skills and

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Achievement Expected standard

knowledge children will need in the next room or when they move to school, particularly in communication and independence. For example, toddlers pour their own drinks at snack time and older children manage minor disagreements independently.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children behave very well at this setting. They work together harmoniously, kindly and collaborate to solve problems without adult support. For example, children play a game where they have to choose a squishy or hard toy. When a child pulls out one that they weren't hoping for, other children observe this and offer to swap with them, asking, 'Is that better?' This shows that staff have typically embedded positive strategies to support children's behaviour and social development. Children understand the routine well. Staff provide flexibility within the routine, allowing children to choose where they would prefer to play. Leaders and staff make the routine particularly responsive for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face barriers to their learning.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Leaders and staff use robust procedures to promote good punctuality and attendance. They follow clear escalation processes when they have concerns about a child's wellbeing. Leaders analyse children's attendance individually and across the nursery, so they can minimise any barriers so that all children achieve good levels of attendance.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Overall, children show a positive attitude to learning and engage in self-chosen play with other children and adults. However, during periods of staff holiday, leaders do not ensure that children are well known by those covering staff absences. As a result, staff do not always know what the children's next steps in learning are and learning experiences are less targeted. However, staff typically understand children's ages and stages of development and respond appropriately to individual children.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Typically, staff get to know children well during their settling-in period and take into account individual needs. For example, staff work with parents to tailor the approach for each child and increase the number of sessions when children need additional time to settle, especially those with special educational needs and/or disabilities or other barriers to their learning. Staff support children to understand their own feelings and the feelings of others. For example, when children become upset after a disagreement over a toy, staff help children name the emotion, help children regulate, and then support them to work together to find a solution.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders and staff teach children the importance of being healthy and make this learning enjoyable. For example, during snack time, staff invite children to make faces with fresh fruit and vegetables and talk about how these foods help keep their bodies healthy. Staff monitor children's lunch boxes closely and work with parents when they notice unhealthy changes. Overall, staff help children understand how to take appropriate risks and stay nearby when children need support. For example, staff support babies to walk unaided but are nearby to offer a hand. When children build an obstacle course with a range of loose parts in the garden, staff support them when they encounter risks they cannot yet manage independently.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Overall, leaders have designed an ambitious curriculum for all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. All children develop a love of stories and reading. They invite staff to read to them, and staff bring stories to life. For example, children enjoy the 'We're Going on a Bear Hunt' story and excitedly join in with repeated phrases and actions that get them up and moving. As babies play with animals in a sensory tray, staff elongate initial sounds to support children's speech skills, such as 'ssssssnake', and children watch the staff intently and then move on to the next animal. Shortly after, staff move them to the book corner to read 'Dear Zoo'. Staff help children make connections between the animals they had just explored and the story.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Children experience mathematics weaved through everyday experiences, and older children are explicitly taught these skills. Older children play a dice rolling game, where they subitise confidently. Young children benefit from staff counting one by one to help children begin to understand number and quantity.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Staff model words for younger children by repeating them clearly, helping children hear the correct pronunciation. However, staff do not always implement the curriculum consistently, and the quality of teaching sometimes prevents children from experiencing the full intended curriculum. Generally, staff interact well with children through a variety of learning experiences. However, staff do not always respond effectively to children or extend their ideas. As a result, children do not always deepen their thinking or learning, even when they invite staff to engage in their play.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders demonstrate an accurate understanding of the setting's strengths and have developed a clear plan for the areas they want to improve so they can strengthen outcomes for children. For example, leaders have identified, through observations, that some staff need support to enhance their interaction skills, extend or consolidate children's learning and help embed new knowledge. Leaders have plans to focus on this through role modelling experiences. However, the plans are yet to be implemented effectively and there is more still to do to improve the quality of teaching and interactions across the setting.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Parents are complimentary of the setting and very much value the progress their children have made as a direct result of the setting, especially children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, disadvantaged children and children who are known or previously known to children's social care. Parents appreciate the regular updates on the electronic app that allows them to see what their children are doing whilst at the setting. Leaders and staff are proud of their multi-agency working, which results in children receiving bespoke and consistent targets to support them. Leaders and staff feel there is a good sense of community between the nursery and wider school and have a sound understanding of the local community and families who may attend the setting.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Staff report that leaders support their wellbeing very well, which enables them to carry out their roles effectively. Leaders prioritise a range of professional development for staff, including safeguarding training, and, more recently, training to become 'maths champions' to strengthen mathematical practice across the setting, which the staff are excited about.

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

Children are happy and settled at the setting. They enjoy safe and secure relationships with staff. Staff greet children warmly, and children show that they are happy to see them. They arrive confidently and eagerly start their day by exploring what the setting has to offer. Children are independent, curious and inquisitive. For example, during a downpour of rain in the garden, the children listen and watch intently to the sound of the raindrops hitting the shelter, and when it suddenly stops, children look at one another and laugh. They notice a stream of water coming off the roof and rush to collect buckets to collect it, before transporting it around the garden. Some children choose to place their hand under the drops and then clap their hands while staff offer commentary on what it feels like.

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

Babies flourish and enjoy playing alongside others. Older children enjoy the learning experiences on offer, showing particular excitement when staff plan activities around their interests. For example, children engage enthusiastically during a 'potion-making' activity. They create their own potions by mixing glitter, water, petals and shaving foam with delight.

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

Children are prepared well for the next stage of their education. They develop independence skills that will help them succeed when they start school or move to the next nursery room. For example, older children moving to school are using cotton buds to paint with to support the development of their fine motor skills. Children's emotional wellbeing is prioritised. For example, leaders and staff have designed a well-considered transition process that helps children build friendships and relationships with their new key workers, so they feel safe and secure as they move on within the nursery.

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

Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who may have other barriers to learning, make sound progress from their starting points. Leaders and staff identify barriers to children's learning and take effective steps to reduce them through targeted support. Children achieve well, which helps them develop the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to secure a solid start in life.

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Address:

Brookside Community Primary School Brooks Road Street BA16 0PR

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

Registered person: Bridgwater & Taunton College Trust

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Address:

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday : 07:30 - 17:30,Friday : 07:30 - 17:00

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Next steps

Leaders should ensure they strengthen staff teaching and interaction strategies to ensure children benefit consistently from the planned curriculum. Leaders should ensure that they review and plan strategically when key persons are not at the setting, so children's next steps are known and supported even during periods of staff absence.

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About this inspection

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

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About this inspection

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. Local authority: Somerset

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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. 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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