Queenswellies 

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Practitioners should be mindful that any activities are relevant and meaningful to the children. These pictures are lovely however clearly done by an adult and the child added the paint. By doing things this way there are many missed learning opportunities for the children. Children could have been supported to make their own animals by looking through books and discussing what certain animals look like and what colour they are before choosing resources required.&#160; A child's perspective would be allowed to shine.&#160; The activity of looking for these pictures within the forest was delightful and I am sure the children enjoyed it however so much more could have been achieved for the child's learning and development when children are supported to be fully involved.&#160;

It would be more effective for children's thought processes if the resources in the above picture were presented in and area beside the water tray and allow the children individual choice. Children should then be supported to return resources to base area after using.&#160;

The spaces within the indoor area provide continuous provision which supports curiosity and inquiry.&#160; This also supports age and stage appropriate interactions with the resources as children have free choice and challenge can be provided when necessary.&#160; Practitioners should monitor their practice to ensure that child's choice is supported within most areas. A child will play with a toy set up on a table however when they are supported to choose for themselves the level of engagement increases as does the depth of learning for the child.&#160; Resources presented to children so they can choose what and how they use them is beneficial in all areas. Effective staff interactions , gentle questioning and suggestions will support progression of learning and provide challenge.&#160; Monitoring and 1-1 supervision meetings from room leads and management ensure practitioners continue to develop best practice.&#160;

&#160;Simone EYP is undertaking the year long training course&#160; Certificate in Outdoor Practice. The setting are already seeing positive improvements in their outdoor play spaces.&#160;

Planning processes are in place and support the experiences planned for the setting. Room leads need to ensure the learning intentions of these experiences are considered and evident within the planning. Responsive planning relating to observations of and interactions with the children will support progression of learning and inform future intentional planning.&#160;

Personal plans are in place and meaningful information has been gathered from parents and carers. Strategies for meeting the needs of children are evident within plans. Some children have care plans for medical needs and/or allergies which are kept separate from general information from parents. Care plans are reviewed and updated regularly however general getting to know you information within the personal plan should also be reviewed at least 6 monthly.&#160; It may be more efficient for all information about a child to be held in the same folder. This allows for a clear picture of the child and allows practitioners to be effective in the care of that child. This also allows key workers to use the personal plan as a working document in meeting specific medical needs as well as supporting and extending learning and developmental needs.&#160;

&#160;The skills awards are a nice way for celebrating a child's progression and achievements. This form could be part of the personal plan and if pictures were used the children could be more involved in leading their own learning and assessing whether they have achieved a skill they have been practicing&#160;

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<ul><li>Support child autonomy within spaces - choosing and returning </li><li>Monitor and support effective practitioner interactions </li><li>Support identification and extension of learning </li><li>Further develop intentional planning to support specific skills. </li><li>Further development of outdoor spaces </li></ul>

I know these points are covered within your improvement plan however please let me know where I can support and if you would like a support visit. 

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4.1 Improved staff knowledge ,understanding and familiarisation of key Wellies policies and procedures and all Local and National documents

Monthly Staff Collegiate Meetings to be held with a focus on Improvement Plan and ongoing self-evaluation of nursery practices.

Ongoing staff training through Aberlour Futures, Cairn Training, Great Western Training, Aberdeen City Council training programme, AZILLO and own CPD. Staff to take responsibility for own learning journeys and see the importance of continuing professional development

&nbsp;ALL staff to spend time in other rooms within both nurseries with a focus on sharing of good practice and own CPD. All staff to visit other nurseries and schools with a focus on sharing best practice

Specific actions from Improvement plans&#160;

&nbsp;Use national and local documents to make better use of outdoor space including local community. Further develop our outdoor provision / areas in order to maximise opportunities for all children. Focus on Literacy, Numeracy and Health and Wellbeing in outdoor environment.

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Date of visit: 15th November 2023

Positive, caring relationships based on trust and respect, are at the heart of our philosophy.&nbsp;KingsWellies is a place to learn, develop and grow ‘happy healthy children’

Queenswellies opened in August 2023. The setting can accommodate children 0-5 years and benefits from an experienced senior management team who have already worked for&#160; 'Wellies' nurseries. This contributes to shared&#160; vision values and aims across both settings.&#160;&#160;

HAPPINESS AND WELLBEING&nbsp; ENGAGEMENT&nbsp; RESPECT&nbsp; COMMUNICATION&nbsp; ACHIEVEMENT&nbsp; INTEGRITY&nbsp; PARTNERSHIP AND CARE&nbsp;– CHALLENGING&nbsp; COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE&nbsp;

Settings current improvement priorities : -Support relationships within new team -Mentoring new staff&#160; -Embedding practice&#160;

At Wellies nursieries, we believe that every day is a learning day and that learning is all around us. As well as being a place of learning, we pride ourselves on ensuring that all children are coming in to a loving, caring environment where they are valued and listened to. We also involve children and parents in trying to continually improve.

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House Room - A role play area is available in a separate area upstairs from the main playroom. As the number of children in setting increases this area will be open to free flow however just now children can ask to go there and are supported to do so. Practitioners should consider having pictures of the downstairs space to remind children of their choices. They should also be sensitive to the skills children will engage within the role play area and make sure there are opportunities for these skills to be accessed in the lower room for those children who don't want to or are not confident enough to make the move upstairs.&#160;

Children are involved in the routines of the day and respond to practitioners interactions. This is supporting their sense of ownership and independence. Practitioners should ensure that any changes to routines are explained to the children and&#160; reassurances given. Expectations of children should be age and stage appropriate. Meaningful experiences support high level learning and development. Individual learning skills should be planned for within spaces and experiences. This will facilitate tracking of progression of learning for individual children.&#160;

There are many outdoor spaces for the children to explore while developing movement and co-ordination.&#160; Planning for learning within these areas will allow the skills being supported indoors to be shared outdoors where children can present as being more motivated to be curious and creative .All weather access is supported&#160; with appropriate clothing and enthusiastic practitioners who value outdoor learning. One lovely learning space brings the feeling of outdoors inside and a different sensation for the children.&#160;

The setting has a warm and welcoming ethos where the children continue to receive warm and nurturing interactions from practitioners. Practitioners engage with the children and support their play and when children are upset or hurt they receive swift and sensitive support and reassurance.&#160; Children move confidently around the indoor areas and free flow to the outdoor area and Outdoor Classroom area. It is obvious that most children are familiar with the environment and know where to find what they are looking for.&#160; There are low numbers of children in setting at the moment however staff are developing routines that children can follow and feel secure. This will lay good foundations for when more children join and existing children can model to new children.&#160;

Extract from Kingswellies QA book - July 2023

A sister setting for Kingswellies , Queenswellies' is being planned and parents and children are being kept up to date with developments. Views and opinions of stakeholders are requested and considered. Staff for the new setting are spending time within Kingswellies to support their knowledge and understanding of the ethos of the setting and its policies and procedures. This builds confidence in the new and the existing staff as learning discussions take place.

Quality Indicator 3.1 : Quality Assurance will continue as high profile. Involve staff in all aspects of self-evaluation. Take a closer look at appropriate Quality Indicators from A Quality Framework for Daycare of Children, Childminding and School Aged Children and identify priorities for improvement by staff and stakeholders through broad brush audit and ongoing consultation

 Increased opportunities for consultation with children. Ongoing focus on weekly reflection time with key workers. Further develop the use of child-led improvement groups e.g.. Eco group, outside play group, kindness group, Enterprise groups, Food Matters, Xmas group, Graduation group, celebration group, fundraising group, charity group, risk monitors, Buddies, Playground group. Focus on leadership opportunities for all children. 

Further engage with self-evaluation tools built in to Realising the Ambition: Being Me. Use and discuss the Case Studies as to how we should respond as best practice practitioners within Wellies Nurseries

&nbsp;Encourage increased parent/carer involvement – Ongoing development and implementation of KingsWellies Parent Council. Continue to focus on family learning opportunities inside and outside the nursery environment.

Support required: I am confident effective plans are in place to meet the improvements identified. If i can help in anyway please get in touch.

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Cosy inviting spaces are available within the environment. This allows children to have some downtime and relax with a book or have a nap if needed. Sensitive touches such as family photographs within photo frames, soft furnishings and neutral colourings around the setting enable the children to feel safe and secure.&#160;

Practitioners engage in lovely caring conversations with the children. Most staff clearly know the children and their likes and dislikes. Staff should also remember to listen to the children as this alongside observing their play will inform future planning. One child was looking at the floor books about animals and what continents they came from. The practitioner kept taking conversation back to the animals however for that child it was the pictures of her friends that interested her and she was enjoying naming them.

Planning processes are continuing to develop. Staff are focusing on the difference between intentional and responsive planning . This is an on-going process and the team are working to try and find the balance between incorporating themes in the planning. Floor books document the experiences taking place with child's voice evident however they are sometimes missing the actual learning that took place.&#160;&#160; &#160;Staff should&#160; continue to focus on the skills they want the children to practice and learn and ensuring that these are embedded in to everyday continuous provision.&#160; Responsive planning still needs further development to ensure that next steps are linking with the learning that is hoped to take place. As staff get more confident in their use of the intentional planning, this will hopefully further develop their understanding of the curriculum and progression pathways to support next steps.&#160;

The environment is warm and welcoming. It has been carefully laid out to ensure children have a wide variety of stimulating and challenging play areas available to them to stimulate a range of different learning opportunities. Resources are freely available for children to independently choose and transport to develop their play. Children are then supported to be responsible by tidying away to clearly labelled containers.&#160;

Quality Assurance Journey Ebook

ELC Manager: Marcia Love /Emma Campbell Locality Lead Officer: Alison Stewart

Practitioners are calm and nurturing in their interactions. Children are supported to be kind to others and are beginning to be able to identify their emotions and some of others. The setting advocates a 'Fill my Bucket' approach where children can gain stars for positive interactions with peers, being helpful and kind to others. Successes are celebrated with Life Skill awards.&#160; Senior management's on going monitoring of practice supports development of effective interactions which support progression of learning.&#160;

Supporting Staff to deliver high quality practice ....

Staff are well supported within the setting , Management teams have regular meetings and are aware of the training needs of their staff. They facilitate time for shared learning and allow staff to work in different rooms to build relationships across the setting. Distributive leadership is evident with room leads taking responsibility for some areas and practitioners becoming more confident to discuss improvements identified.&#160;

Regular monitoring of practice takes place and staff are encouraged to be reflective practitioners. Sharing practice and discussing strategies builds confidence in pedagogy and supports knowledge and understanding. Regular observation tracking facilitates effective observations which identify learning and appropriate next steps for the individual child. Staff are supported with a growing confidence to be able to identify learning within their practice and from there provide resources, time or interactions that will support further learning and development.&#160;

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