Alpha Nurseries

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are safe and very happy at this nurturing and stimulating nursery. Staff greet all children with care and enthusiasm. This helps children to feel valued and secure. Staff support children to develop good social skills. Children play cooperatively with their friends. For example, they use different materials to cover themselves and giggle when they tell the inspector they are a friendly ghost. The manager and the staff have created a strong sense of community within the nursery. Parents comment about the warm and caring atmosphere and how excited their children are to arrive each day.

Staff have high expectations of children. They support children to learn through play. Children follow instructions, and they are well behaved and considerate towards each other. Staff are excellent role models. They show a genuine interest in what children do and say. One of the nursery's biggest priorities is children's happiness. Staff want children to feel a sense of belonging and to feel loved. There is a lot of laughter throughout the nursery from staff and children.

Staff take children on regular visits within the local community. Children enjoy walks to the park and regular trips to the library. Staff use these trips to help support children's awareness of the world around them and the people who live in it. They also enrich children's learning experiences and help to prepare them for their future success.

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

• The dedicated and passionate manager is clear about what she wants children to learn. Staff provide an inclusive curriculum that meets the needs of all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. As a result, all children make good progress from their starting points in development. The manager is highly reflective and committed to making ongoing improvements. She makes sure that staff's well-being is paramount and continually supports their professional development.
• Staff plan a range of well-thought-out activities and experiences for children. These are based on children's interests and what they need to learn next. For example, babies enjoy feeling and exploring the texture of flour in the sensory tray. They squeal with delight as staff blow bubbles, touching them as they float and pop. Toddlers show a lot of concentration as they thread cereal and pasta through pipe cleaners. Staff use spontaneous moments to extend children's learning in literacy.
• Parent partnerships are strong. Parents speak highly of staff and the education that their children receive. Staff communicate well with parents, keeping them updated about their child's progress and next steps in learning. They encourage parents to support their children further at home by offering different ideas to complete at home.
• Staff promote children's healthy lifestyles. For example, they teach children that eating fruits and vegetables is very good for their bodies. Children demonstrate good handwashing and self-care skills. Younger children learn to feed themselves from a young age, with staff close by to support them when needed. Older children serve themselves food and eat independently. They also proudly show the inspector how they use toothbrushes to brush the dolls' teeth and clean the dolls' hair. The manager has arranged visits to the local dentist. These help to support children's understanding about oral health.
• Overall, staff support children's communication and language skills well. They sit alongside children to read and retell stories. Staff use visual aids to enable children to understand what is happening now and next. Songs and rhymes play a big part of the nursery curriculum. Children, who are still developing their language, use musical instruments to join in. However, occasionally, staff who are less confident do not make the best use of their interactions with children to extend their developing communication skills as much as possible.
• Children develop their physical skills well. They enjoy spending time in the garden, where they run, climb and move their bodies. Staff joyfully demonstrate to babies how to crawl across the room, which encourages the babies to join in and follow. Older children demonstrate their fine motor skills as they carefully dress the dolls in new clothes.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support less confident staff to raise the quality of their interactions and support for children's communication and language to an even higher level.