Angels Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are cared for by a team of attentive and caring staff who are invested in supporting children's learning and development from a very young age. Young babies are stimulated through positive interactions with staff. They happily sit with staff and listen to them sing their favourite rhymes. They try to copy the staff who are doing the actions. Children aged two-to-three years play alongside their peers as they climb and balance on logs and count as they jump off. Staff follow children's interests. Children show a positive attitude towards learning. In Pre-school, children are fascinated by animals as they learn and chat about the rabbits that have come to visit for the day.

Children learn in a relaxed, calm atmosphere. Each room follows the nursery's 'golden rules' for behaviour. For example, young children learn to listen and to start to help with tidying up. Pre-school children are confident in where to put everything away when they are asked. They listen carefully to staff, who encourage them to be kind to each other and to take account of each other's wishes. For example, staff explain that children must check with other children whether it is alright to give them a hug.

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

• Management have clear expectations for what children should learn through their curriculum. Staff understand how to teach children and know what they want them to learn next. They provide a good balance of free-play activities and adult-guided experiences.
• Children under the age of two years develop a great appreciation for books. They enjoy sitting closely with staff as they look at the pictures and listen to the stories. Pre-school children have favourite books. Staff support children's vocabulary and pause in their storytelling so that children can fill in any gaps. However, books in the two-to-three-year-old room are not easily accessible for children to look at. This hampers their developing love of books and early literacy development.
• Staff provide children with a good range of opportunities to explore the outdoor area. This helps children to develop their physical skills. From a young age children can choose whether they want to play indoors or outside. They learn to climb up the steps on a slide and develop their skills on ride-on toys, such as trikes.
• Children are becoming confident communicators. Staff speak clearly to them. This helps children to learn the correct pronunciation of words. Children enjoy number rhymes. From a young age, they learn number names, and by the time children are in pre-school, they count confidently. Children recognise how many are left when staff ask them to take one number away.
• Staff develop strong partnerships with parents. They keep parents informed about the nursery through monthly newsletters. During the COVID-19 pandemic, staff sent activities home that parents could do with their children. Parents comment positively about the nursery and the care their children receive there.
• Children learn about similarities and differences. Staff teach them about different cultural traditions and festivals during the year. For instance, children learn about Chinese New Year and that a red envelope is a symbol of energy, happiness and good luck.
• Self-evaluation is effective. The management and staff take appropriate steps to address any issues. Managers ask staff for their opinions on what could be done better in the nursery. They consult parents for their views. For instance, they have asked parents about their preferences for dropping off and collecting their children at nursery. This has led to parents dropping their children off at the entrance in the morning and coming into nursery to collect their children.
• Managers provide some valuable opportunities for professional development for staff. They carry out appraisal meetings and offer training courses. They have introduced two staff training days a year based on the areas they think staff need to develop. This has helped to improve the overall quality of teaching in the nursery. However, necessary support is not consistently provided for newly appointed staff to help them fully understand their key children and what they need to learn next.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen the curriculum in the two-year-old room for literacy to develop children's love of books and early literacy development
• support the newest members of staff in knowing and understanding their key children to help them plan appropriately for their development.