Almozene Nursery And Children's Centre

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children form strong bonds with staff, and children enjoy staff's interactions in their play. Children enjoy praise and respond with positive behaviour. They take turns and play cooperatively. They are kind to each other, for example, a toddler pats their friend's back when they cough. Children show pride in their achievements, and they proudly show the inspector their creations. Children are fully engaged and motivated. They are confident to initiate and to choose their play. Children's knowledge is enriched as they learn about other cultures. Children develop a strong 'can-do' attitude. For example, outdoors, a child practises riding a scooter. The child topples over and falls several times. They dust off their clothes, rub their knees and try again, and they are delighted when they stay on longer each time. Children show an interest in mathematics as they sing number songs and count objects during their play. Older children begin to use early calculation and to develop an understanding of simple fractions. Children learn about the benefits of healthy eating and of regular exercise. Staff have high expectations for all children in the welcoming and inclusive environment. Overall, staff help prepare children well for the next stage in their learning, including their eventual move on to school.

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

• Staff manage children's behaviour well. Children behave well.
• Staff make regular observations and assessments of children's individual learning. They have a clear intent of what they want every child to learn next. They work hard to make sure that the planned activities are carefully matched to children's interests and learning needs. They organise the learning environment well to enable children to access toys and resources independently. However, on occasions, the enthusiastic staff over-direct children's self-chosen play, so staff do not enable children to learn independently or to develop their thinking skills and own ideas during these times.
• Children learn to recognise and to write letters of their name, and they demonstrate good pencil control. Children, who prefer to learn outdoors, enjoy the wide range of resources and of activities that staff provide.
• Staff promote children's language skills well. They show a genuine interest in what children say. They ask children questions that encourage them to think deeply. Toddlers copy the actions of staff as they sing and repeat some familiar words. Staff promote children's early reading skills. For example, staff read stories with good intonation, and children are very motivated and engaged as they become engrossed in the story.
• Children learn to do things for themselves. For example, they can tidy up after themselves and help to prepare the daily snacks.
• Children enjoy a range of activities that encourages them to be physically active. Children's control of their hand and fingers is enhanced as they excitedly pinch, squeeze and pound dough to music. Outdoors, they run, jump and manoeuvre wheeled toys around obstacles using their whole bodies.
• Parents are very complimentary about the nursery. They attribute their children's good progress, particularly in developing confidence, social skills and speech skills, to the staff. However, staff do not always fully support parents to help accelerate children's acquisition of toileting skills at home.
• The manager monitors children's learning and development closely. She has developed effective systems for monitoring the quality of teaching too. The provider invests in continuous staff training to drive professional development. This helps to improve staff's knowledge and the outcomes for children and their families. The manager provides swift intervention when children need extra help and offers effective small-group or one-to-one support. The manager works closely with outside professional agencies, such as speech and language therapists. She and her team welcome support from the local authority early years team. Support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities is strong. This has a positive impact on the progress children make from their individual starting points.
• Regular evaluation of the service provided takes account of the views of children, of parents and of staff.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enable children to explore and to investigate resources in their own way, to enable them to learn independently and to develop their thinking skills and own ideas during these times
• work more closely with parents to share strategies to help accelerate children's acquisition of toileting skills.