Anglesey House Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and safe at this welcoming and inclusive nursery. Babies are well settled and content. Staff develop warm and affectionate bonds with the children. They speak gently and calmly to the children. Staff know each child's individual character and personality well. They have high expectations for children's learning and use their good teaching skills to build on what children already know and can do.

Staff provide a rich and exciting environment for children to explore. Throughout the nursery, staff plan a variety of activities and experiences to support children's learning. Staff treat children with utmost respect. For example, they listen with genuine interest to what children have to say. They give children choices. This demonstrates to children that their opinions are valued.

Staff support children to develop positive behaviours, including learning how to share, take turns and show respect for others. Children demonstrate high levels of maturity as they work together to resolve issues for themselves. Staff ensure that children's personal needs are met at all times.

Children develop a positive attitude towards their learning. They are well prepared for their next stage of learning, including their eventual move on to school.

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

• Leaders are committed to giving children the best possible start in life. They have developed an ambitious and well-sequenced curriculum based on children's learning needs and current interests. Targeted plans are in place to support those children who need additional help. All children make good progress from their starting points. Leaders ensure that any additional funding the nursery receives is spent effectively to further enhance children's development. Staff ratios are maintained as required.
• Leaders give a high priority to staff well-being. They ensure that staff workload is manageable. They provide staff with opportunities to refresh their knowledge and enhance their skills, which supports staff to carry out their roles and responsibilities effectively.
• Staff are passionate about their role as early years practitioners. Their good teaching supports children to develop a range of skills, abilities and attitudes that they need in readiness for the next stage in their education.
• Staff prioritise children's communication and language. Children have easy access to a wonderful selection of stories and books. Staff model language effectively. They sing songs and read enthusiastically to children individually and in groups. Staff speak slowly and clearly. Staff ask interesting questions, giving time for children to think and formulate a response. Children demonstrate a love of books.
• Staff respond to babies' babble and words. They praise children when they repeat words, such as 'quack'. Babies are fully engaged and have fun as they bang metal objects together to make sounds. Staff name babies' actions as they play. For example, they tell them 'you're banging'. This helps young children begin to make connections and link their actions to familiar words.
• Staff encourage children to do as much as possible for themselves. Children go to the toilet independently, babies learn to feed themselves and toddlers use tongs to serve their own fruit.
• Children make good progress in their early literacy development. They learn the sounds that letters represent and start to write the letters of their name.
• Children learn to count, recognise numbers and learn about capacity. However, at times, staff do not always support children to extend their understanding of mathematics beyond their current capabilities.
• Staff support children to learn about healthy lifestyles. They provide children with nutritious snacks and meals. In addition, they grow their own vegetables as part of the nursery's healthy eating ethos. Fresh drinking water is always accessible and available in the children's rooms for them to access independently when they are thirsty. In the baby room, staff ensure that young children are offered lots of water throughout the day to ensure that they are kept hydrated. Children benefit from plenty of time outdoors. Children laugh and giggle together as they chase bubbles. Staff support children to learn about the importance of oral health. This contributes to children developing healthy habits.
• Parents are highly complimentary about the nursery. They say that their children are happy, well cared for and safe. Their children look forward to going to the nursery. Parents comment on the good progress their children make. However, staff do not ensure that parents receive enough precise information to help them to continue to support their children's learning at home.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• help staff to fully support children to extend their understanding of mathematics beyond their current capabilities during play and routines
• provide parents with more precise information about their children's learning to support them to continue their child's learning at home.