Ashfield Nursery & ELC

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are very happy to attend this friendly nursery. They benefit from a broad variety of learning opportunities that staff plan to help them achieve the next steps in their learning. For example, staff identify that children need support to develop their hand muscles in preparation for writing, so prepare a range of activities for them to practise handling tools. Older children use paintbrushes, pens and scissors to create Christmas pictures and cards. Babies make marks with large chalks. Children are proud of their achievements. For instance, they beam when they are nominated to go on the 'proud cloud' display for good listening.

Children behave well. They learn to share, take turns and show a keen interest in what their friends say. Children enjoy playing together as they make dens and light pretend campfires to keep warm in the icy weather. Staff set clear expectations during group times and reinforce these in a lovely way. For instance, they use singing well at routine times of the day. This helps children to prepare for the next activity in a calm and happy environment. Older children in particular learn good skills to help their independence ready for school. For example, at mealtimes, they pour their water from jugs and scoop yoghurt into their bowls. Afterwards, children are keen to show the inspector how they can line up to scrape their waste into bowls.

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

• The new management team is passionate about its work and has a clear vision for the future of the nursery. It has worked hard with the owners and local authority advisory team to make recent sustained improvements, in particular to the curriculum and learning environments. This ensures good outcomes for all children.
• Staff build strong bonds with children. They are enthusiastic and interact well with children. For example, staff encourage babies to explore toy lions in a play tray. They have great fun together as they roar loudly and learn to clean the lions' sharp teeth with brushes. Older children enjoy using their imaginations as a huge cardboard tube becomes a telephone, a telescope and a house.
• Staff actively promote inclusion as they acknowledge and value differences, ensuring that their plans take account of children's individual needs. Children's cultures are respected and shared with other children. For example, staff provide children's favourite books in different languages, and parents share favourite Christmas carol videos in other languages.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported well. Staff effectively liaise with parents and other professionals, such as portage workers. This supports children who have gaps in their learning and development to make the best possible progress.
• Parents say that their children are happy attending the nursery and cannot wait to get inside. They say their children make lots of progress, and they receive plenty of information and ideas from staff about what their children are learning. Parents compliment the new management team on the positive changes it has made, such as better communication and the new learning board for parents.
• Although staff promote healthy lifestyles effectively overall, on occasions their interactions do not consistently extend younger children's self-care skills or reinforce their understanding of good hygiene practices. However, staff support children's physical development successfully. For example, babies have enormous fun building their core muscles in a ball pool.
• Overall, children develop good levels of speech for communication. Staff use their skills to model language effectively. For example, older children enjoy singing and story sessions. They are keen to follow the actions and offer their story ideas. However, support for younger children's communication and language varies. At times, staff model language well. However, children are not consistently given the opportunity to build and extend their thinking and responses during activities and routines.
• The management team recognises that improvements are required to the existing support and coaching for staff to increase their effectiveness. Staff comment positively on the regular team talks they hold for 'reflective Fridays'. They say that they feel valued and listened to. This creates a very happy atmosphere for children to play and learn.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• continue to improve staff's skills to help them make the most of all opportunities, including mealtimes, to strengthen children's understanding of how self-care and hygiene routines can help to maintain their good health
• develop strategies used by staff working with younger children to enhance their communication and language skills and support their growing vocabulary.