Al - Noor Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff greet children and families warmly at the start of the session. Staff are caring and sensitive, offering cuddles and comfort to new starters and children who are shy. This helps them to feel settled and build strong bonds with their key person. Staff have high expectations of children's behaviour. They are kind and thoughtful. Staff model respectful behaviour towards children and each other. This helps children copy their good example. Hence, children's behaviour is very good.

Leaders are passionate about providing high-quality experiences for children and families. They are enthusiastic and dedicated to children, families and the community. They know them very well. They effectively use this knowledge to create a very stimulating environment and curriculum for children's learning. Leaders have a clear view of what they want children to learn.

Staff observe children carefully and work with parents well, sharing information through two-way communications. From this, they plan a broad curriculum that builds on what children can do through exciting activities and stimulating environments. Hence, most children are keen to explore, join in activities enthusiastically and concentrate well. As a result, most children make very good progress in their learning and are ready for the next stage in their education.

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

• Leaders consult parents to help them decide what to improve in the setting. A current priority identified is developing children's independence skills. For example, staff organise toys to help children make independent choices about what to play with. However, staff overlook chances to teach self-care skills, such as letting children wipe their noses or hang their coats up.
• Staff place a high priority on developing children's speech. They listen carefully to children, repeat what they say, teach new words and use correct pronunciation. Staff use a speech and language programme to provide extra support for children that need it. These experiences help all children to make good progress in developing their speaking and listening skills.
• Staff offer many chances for children to develop physical skills, like running up a grass banking, climbing and digging outside. Staff plan activities that help children to build their small muscles. For example, they turn the sewing machine wheel as they play making clothes and shape play dough. These activities help children build muscles, balance, coordination and dexterity.
• Staff effectively promote reading. They provide a wide variety of texts like stories, newspapers, car manuals and recipe books. Children listen intently as staff read enthusiastically to them. Leaders have developed a lending library to encourage reading at home. These experiences help children to develop early literacy skills and enjoy reading books.
• Staff weave mathematics throughout the setting and talk about shapes, numbers and measures with children. They talk about shapes as they encourage children to balance blocks. They encourage children to predict and measure how far cars go as they let them go down ramps. This helps children to start to develop their mathematical thinking.
• Staff organise children into family groups for chats and activities, like measuring how big the pumpkins have grown. In larger groups, children sing and strum guitars. However, at times staff do not ensure all children, particularly quieter children, are fully involved during group sessions. As a result, some children miss out on the learning opportunities.
• Leaders foster children's health and well-being. They inform parents about oral hygiene and teach children to brush their teeth after snack. They promote healthy eating and healthy lunch boxes for those children who stay all day at the setting. They grow vegetables in the garden. These activities help children learn to make healthy choices.
• Leaders build strong partnerships with others. For example, parents say they feel included and that the setting reflects what is important to them. Staff work well with schools. They share information with them to support children as they start school.
• Leaders have high expectations for all children and use additional funds effectively to help those who need more support. They work with specialists to ensure children with additional needs make positive progress. They share their expertise with early years settings.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop children's independence and self-care skills
• ensure staff manage group times even more effectively so that all children are fully involved in activities.