Alpha Kindergarten Stanground

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy, well settled and thoroughly enjoy their time at the nursery. Staff know children and their families very well. They instinctively adapt their practice and approach to ensure that each child's needs are met and that they are nurtured as individuals. Children show that they feel safe and secure. They build strong bonds with staff, seeking them out for reassurance when they feel sad or to share excitement when they achieve something new. Children show good levels of attention and curiosity. They follow simple instructions given by staff, such as forming a line when it is ready to return inside. Children learn to take turns and share as they play. They enjoy a social experience at nursery and are forming friendships with their peers.

Children enjoy varied opportunities that help them practise their physical skills. They especially enjoy coordinating their bodies to climb up the climbing wall to then glide down the slide, under staff supervision. Staff support the youngest children well as they learn how to crawl, stand and step. There is a focus to help children secure their gross motor skills. Staff understand that children must first develop large arm movements before building fine motor skills and beginning to develop a pencil grip or to use scissors skilfully.

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

• The provider has established a clear curriculum that helps children build on what they know and can do to help prepare them for the move to school and life in modern Britain. Staff understand the learning intent of the curriculum. They plan well, using their knowledge of the children and typical child development to sequence children's learning. All children make good progress in relation to their starting points.
• Parents are very positive about the nursery and the staff. They say they feel well informed about their child's day and their progress in learning and development. Parents say that staff provide ideas of things they can do at home that are tailored to meet children's individual next steps in learning. Parents report that communication is excellent and that they feel there is effective partnership working in place.
• Children develop good levels of confidence and self-worth. Staff consistently seek children's consent before helping them with hygiene routines. They give children lots of praise and encouragement to keep trying new things. Children are encouraged to make choices. Staff are attentive to ensure that children's needs are met promptly, but also encourage children to do things for themselves. This helps children to build positive attitudes to learning and to take pride in their growing independence with some tasks.
• Staff provide children with a wide range of books. They encourage children to borrow books to take home and share with their parents. Children choose to look at books during the day. Staff make good use of books that help children build emotional intelligence. They encourage children to reflect on such stories to help them identify their emotions and work towards self-regulation.
• The provider highly values the staff team. Staff benefit from regular supervision meetings and are supported to gain professional qualifications and undertake training. This helps to equip staff with the skills they need to support all children, including disadvantaged children, to benefit from the carefully sequenced curriculum. Staff say that they enjoy their work and feel well supported to fulfil their roles.
• Children enjoy playing outside during the day. Staff also take children on outings into the local community, such as to local parks. However, children are not yet able to explore the natural world around them to begin to learn about and appreciate its ecological diversity.
• There is a hum of conversation in the nursery as staff talk to children as they play, describing their actions and explaining what is happening. Some staff naturally introduce new words that help children build their vocabulary and understanding. However, some staff show less ambition in the language they use with children. At times when children dig in the mud kitchen, emptying and filling containers, staff tend to make links to what children know about making food. There is less focus to introduce mathematical language to help children make links to, for example, space and measure.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance further opportunities for children to learn about the natural world
• help staff to enhance interactions with children to inspire awe and wonder and develop curiosity in the world around them.