Amazing Grace Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children and parents are enthusiastically welcomed by staff and the provider when they first arrive. Very young children seek out their key person and give them a big hug on arrival. This shows that children form positive attachments with key persons, which helps them to feel safe and secure. Staff offer children lots of praise and reassurance to help to promote their confidence and self-esteem.

Children prepare for their busy day by starting with a healthy breakfast. They are happy and enthusiastic when they first arrive. Children remember routines. For example, they keenly and independently find their coat pegs to hang up their coats. Children show that they are emotionally secure and feel safe.

Mixed ages of children enjoy their time together as they learn and play. Routines help to ensure that siblings spend time together, such as during circle time and mealtimes. This helps to support younger siblings to feel safe and build their confidence when they first start. Overall, staff manage children's behaviour well. However, occasionally, older children become distracted and lack focus.

Children love to make dough during a planned activity. They listen with increasing attention. Staff promote children's mathematical development as they encourage children to count as they scoop flour into a bowl. They use new words, such as 'squidgy' and 'slimy', to help to extend children's vocabulary to a good level.

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

• The provider has a clear vision for the nursery. She has high expectations for all staff and quickly intervenes when performance does not meet these expectations. Parents eagerly talk about the recently employed manager, who they are keen to work in partnership with.
• The provider carries out robust recruitment, vetting and induction procedures to help to ensure that all staff working with children are suitable. Even though there have been recent changes to management, the staff team has overall remained stable. This helps to ensure a consistent approach to children's care and education.
• Staff attend regular meetings to ensure that their well-being is supported well. Staff say they welcome these meetings to share confidential and sensitive information.
• Staff access a range of training to help to support their professional development. For example, staff access training and support to help them to implement a curriculum to meet children's individual needs. Nevertheless, on occasion, key staff do not always plan experiences and activities to meet the youngest children's individual needs, particularly when they spend time with older children in the large hall.
• Staff have a good understanding of how to extend and challenge children's learning effectively through the implementation of the nursery curriculum. For example, staff eagerly encourage children to recognise the first letter of their name. Furthermore, children have lots of fun as they find alphabet letters in pink glittery foam.
• Staff recognise the importance of storytelling and singing songs to help to promote children's communication and language skills. Staff are animated in their storytelling to help to promote children's listening and attention skills. Children remember the stories read by staff. This is demonstrated as children recall favourite parts of a story.
• Children benefit from fresh air and physical exercise. Children practise their physical skills as they climb steps and negotiate a sloped grassed area. Children wobble as they climb up a slope and giggle as they roll down.
• Effective partnership with parents and other professionals helps to promote a consistent approach to children's learning and development. For example, the provider invites other professionals, such as speech and language therapists, to visit the nursery so that there is a targeted approach.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language make steady progress from when they first start. All children are well prepared for the next stages in their learning and when they move on to school.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• maximise opportunities for children to be consistently focused and engaged
• plan more experiences to meet the individual needs of the youngest children, particularly when they play and learn in the large hall.