Ambrose Nook Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thrive in this bright and inviting nursery. They build strong bonds with the supportive staff, who have high expectations for them. Relationships between staff and babies are nurturing and receptive and all children form secure attachments. Children demonstrate a good understanding of the daily routines. For instance, they prepare for lunch by setting the table with a tablecloth, plant pot and cutlery and take turns pouring their own drinks and sharing garlic bread. Staff are positive role models and provide children with clear and consistent messages. Therefore, children behave very well and are thoughtful and caring towards their friends.

Staff deliver a suitably challenging curriculum that supports all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The manager acts with integrity in using the funding the nursery receives and goes beyond this to provide personalised support to those children that need it the most. All children make good progress relative to their starting points.

Children relish their time outside and demonstrate good physical dexterity as they balance on wooden beams and navigate obstacles as they ride balance bikes. Staff teach children to take appropriate risks and challenges as they play, building their confidence and self-esteem. Children enjoy opportunities to gain real-life experiences. For example, the children delight in feeding and caring for the nursery pet rabbits. This encourages them to be responsible and gives them a sense of purpose and belonging.

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

• Leaders are committed to providing a high standard of care and education for children in the local community. Partnership working is a strength of the nursery and the well-established links with various external professionals ensure all children receive the relevant support and intervention to help them thrive.
• Staff attend a variety of training programmes, positively impacting on outcomes for children. For example, recent training in early years mathematics has equipped staff with a greater understanding of how to support children's development of number, shape and pattern. This has been embedded throughout the nursery and all children are making good progress.
• Children develop a love of books as they listen to familiar stories. Staff are engaging and encourage the children to think about what comes next. For instance, when reading 'The Gruffalo', the children squeal in excitement when they guess correctly that it is time for scrambled snake.
• Staff are creative and plan activities that follow children's interests. Children take pride in their achievements and are eager to show visitors what they can do. However, occasionally, staff do not always enhance their practice to support all children to remain fully engaged and consistently challenged.
• Children are kind and thoughtful. They are becoming active members of the local community. Children eagerly await their visits to the local shop, post office and park. This helps children to develop confidence and a growing understanding of what makes them unique, promoting respect for different people.
• Staff support children to learn about some of the ways to live healthy lifestyles. For example, they enhance the continuous provision with fresh fruit and vegetables and incorporate real-life experiences into children's play. However, these messages are not consistently applied. For example, at times, some children have bottles of juice and unhealthy snacks. Therefore, staff are not always supporting children to understand about healthy food choices and good oral health.
• Parents speak highly about the nursery and comment on the progress their children have made. They express their gratitude for how much staff have helped them develop as parents and the constant support they provide to families. Staff include parents in all aspects of their children's learning and conduct home visits to ease the settling process. Children are well supported during transition into the nursery and in their move on to school.
• The leadership and management of this nursery are good. Self-evaluation is reflective and accurately identifies areas for improvement. Leaders place a strong emphasis on targeted training and recognise that this has a big impact on children's learning and development. Staff comment that the setting 'is like one big family' and that they feel well supported in their roles.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• encourage staff to further enhance their practice to help all children remain fully engaged and consistently challenged in activities
• support staff to consistently help children to understand about healthy food choices and the importance of oral health.