Aflah Nursery, High Wycombe

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive keen and eager to explore this warm and welcoming nursery and separate from parents without hesitation. Staff know the children well and attend to their needs and wants in a timely fashion. Consequently, children feel comfortable and at ease in the setting and move around playing freely. Children play happily and harmoniously with each other, and generally treat each other with kindness and respect. For instance, children share construction resources and help each other to build models of rockets.

The curriculum carefully considers the ages and stages of all children. It balances all the early years requirements, while also studying aspects of the Islamic faith in a sensitive and age-appropriate manner. For example, children are welcomed in Arabic when they arrive at the nursery and are encouraged to respond accordingly. The staff are dedicated to ensuring the children gain an insight into the world around them and look at other festivals, such as Christmas. People from the local community are invited in to receive Christmas cards made by the children. People from the local community are regularly invited into the nursery. These include firefighters and dentists. Children are gaining a good understanding of their community.

What does the early years setting do well and what does it need to do better?

• The passionate team work closely to support children and their families. They spend time getting to know children and their families during stay-and-play sessions before children start at the setting. This helps to support children in settling in swiftly and confidently.
• Staff support children with special education needs and/or disabilities (SEND) well. They observe children closely and alert parents to any early concerns about development that they might have. Staff offer advice and support to parents and liaise effectively with other professionals, such as speech and language therapists, to best meet individual needs. Additional funding is used effectively to best needs the needs of those children who need it most. All children, including those with SEND, make good progress.
• Children understand the routines of the nursery well. They know to change their footwear on arrival and to wash hands before eating. Children are encouraged to develop their independence skills. For example, children are encouraged to tidy up resources they have been using, and to get their own lunch boxes from the trolley at mealtimes.
• Staff are dedicated to supporting children's communication and language skills. They sing rhymes, share stories and ask the children lots of questions during their play. When children are engaging in crafts using autumn leaves, staff model language such as crunchy and crispy. Children then use these words for themselves when playing outside.
• Children are busy and content in their play. They often gravitate to activities that adults are leading and enjoy the conversation and guidance that they are given. However, at times, children are not demonstrating high levels of curiosity. They do not frequently seek to solve problems for themselves or access activities that would promote independent thinking. Children, consequently, are not becoming independently resilient.
• Staff work together very well. The leadership team organise regular staff meetings and training opportunities. They are reflective in their practice and strive to offer the best environment they can. The management team have recently reflected on their risk assessment process and have taken steps to ensure that these are even more robust.
• The nursery supports children's mathematical development well. Children delight in helping staff to organise numbers into the correct order, and count objects that match each numeral. Children count enthusiastically and staff offer opportunities for children to chalk numbers outside.
• Parents speak very highly of the nursery. They feel the staff offer genuine care for every child and appreciate the time that is taken to get to know the children and the families. Parents report that they very much enjoy looking at photographs and pieces of their children's work. Parents state that they are regularly informed about their child's stage of development and how to support them at home with next steps.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop staff's skills to promote children's curiosity and thinking skills further.