Alpha Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are warmly welcomed by a friendly and nurturing staff team. Happily, they come straight into a well-organised, safe and homely environment. Children have many opportunities to freely explore the resources and the environment. They greet their friends as they begin to play, creating puzzles, scooping sand and pouring pasta. Children have excellent relationships with staff. They enjoy engaging and initiating conversations with staff as they eat their healthy snack and use their imaginations in the home corner.

Children are excited and motivated to learn. They enjoy getting ready for a nursery trip to learn about road safety and help each other to put their high-visibility jackets on. Children feel valued as their achievements are praised and excellent behaviour is celebrated. They make the most of being outside and develop good gross motor skills. Children build resilience as they climb on a tyre swing, negotiate space on bicycles and cars and balance on stepping-stones. Children develop wonderful bonds with their friends. They are able to share and take turns extremely well. For instance, children pass the flour to one another as they make play dough, and roll the dice one at a time in a group game.

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

• Staff have extremely high expectations of children's behaviour and are excellent role models. There is a culture of respect in the nursery. Children speak to each other kindly, saying 'please' and 'thank you'. They tuck in their chairs as they leave an activity and all help to tidy up.
• Children follow an embedded routine that helps them to feel secure and confident as they know what is coming next. They wash their hands independently as they get ready for snack. Children select stories and read quietly after lunch and find their coats ready for outdoor play.
• Staff support the youngest children and two-year-old children extremely well. Babies and toddlers thrive in this setting under the guidance of experienced staff, who meet their needs and enhance their learning opportunities. They develop their fine motor skills through carefully planned painting activities. Toddlers develop a love of reading as they act out the 'bear hunt' and become independent as they feed themselves with a spoon. They have rich opportunities throughout the day. However, older children do not consistently benefit from this purposeful and extended learning and, therefore, are not always engaged.
• Children are secure and comfortable in their environment. They separate from parents with ease and staff know children well. Children acquire new language and learn a large repertoire of favourite songs and rhymes. Children are confident as they dance and jump to 'Five Little Monkeys' and go to sleep and hop about as little bunnies.
• There is a clear curriculum that enables all children to transition from one room to the next easily. Children are confident communicators, independent and prepared for the next stage of their education. Children getting ready for school have good attitudes towards their learning. They begin to recognise letters in their name and use numbers accurately in their play. For example, children count how many swings they have on the tyre and how many star jumps they do in aerobics.
• Parents are highly complimentary about the positive relationships that their children have and the feedback that they receive. They know what their children enjoy and are pleased with the friendships and progress they make.
• Robust assessment procedures ensure that children's learning is observed and tracked. Children make good progress from their starting points and parents are involved in sharing information about what children know and can do. Parents benefit from daily communication, photo observations and regular parent progress meetings that support them to help their children at home.
• The managers lead with integrity, including and supporting children and families in nursery and at home. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are promptly identified and supported well. Staff spend time getting to know children on a one-to-one basis, to shadow their interactions and assess their level of need. They ensure that outside agencies and professionals are involved in setting targets and helping all children to make steady progress.
• The managers are ambitious and strive for excellence. They are reflective and identify areas for ongoing improvement, such as to enhance the programme for staff's professional development. The managers explain how they aim to work with staff to improve the quality of education and ensure that learning in all age groups of children is extended.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff further to enhance their knowledge and practice to extend older children's experiences and learning.