Astwood Smiles Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy to attend and thrive in this caring and nurturing environment. They build close bonds and sound relationships with their friends and the staff. This helps all children to feel safe and secure. Babies and children who are new to the nursery settle well in the unfamiliar environment. Children's care needs are carefully considered and matched to routines at home. Their well-being is enhanced by the provision of freshly prepared and nutritious meals. Healthy eating is promoted with those children who bring a packed lunch. Children listen and respond well to staff. They are supported effectively as they learn to manage their feelings and regulate their behaviour. They demonstrate good levels of understanding of their impact on others and are increasingly considerate, particularly of children who struggle with their conduct and need more support.

Children benefit from a well-planned programme of activities and experiences, which are well considered and adapted to suit their individual needs and abilities. This starts from what children already know and can do and then considers children's interests and what they need to learn next. There is a good balance of child-initiated and adult-led experiences and purposeful play. These opportunities help children to build on their current knowledge, develop their understanding and enrich their learning.

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

• Leaders, managers and staff are dedicated and passionate about their roles and responsibilities. They work well as a team and there is a culture of mutual support and respect. There are many opportunities for staff to enhance their professional development. They work together to identify priorities to enhance the provision for children.
• Staff interact well with the children and offer plenty of valuable opportunities for children to lead their own learning. However, occasionally, staff step in too quickly to help children with tasks, such as putting on their own coats and shoes to go outside. At other times, staff do not offer enough support to help the quieter and less confident children to offer their ideas and be fully involved in experiences.
• Children develop good communication and language skills. Staff engage children in meaningful conversations and encourage them to learn new vocabulary. They also provide a narrative for what children are doing and use open questions to help children recall their experiences and demonstrate their growing knowledge and understanding.
• Staff read to children in a way that excites and engages them. Children press buttons which make relevant sounds and puppets and props are used to recreate actions and make stories come alive. Children also enjoy lots of opportunities to listen and join in with rhymes and sing songs.
• Older children enjoy a wealth of opportunities and experiences outside in all weathers. In the morning, staff take them to look at the ice that has formed and recall this later in activities using ice cubes. Children benefit from the fresh air and exercise. They enjoy riding tricycles, climbing steps and going down the slide on the large equipment. In addition, children negotiate around one another as they travel across balancing beams and carefully positioned ladders and tractor tyres. Staff select resources from inside for the babies and younger children who are less mobile to enjoy under the canopy area. However, the manager recognises that there is scope to develop the outdoor environment and provide further learning experiences that are suitable for the youngest children.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported very well. Leaders, managers and staff quickly assess and identify developmental concerns and have a good knowledge and understanding of the children and their needs. They work closely with parents and other professionals. This helps them to find the best ways to help individual children to catch up with their peers.
• Parents are very pleased with the nursery and comment about how their children are very settled and happy to attend. Since the restrictions due to COVID-19, managers and staff have adopted a different approach to engage parents. They are keen to continue extending opportunities for new and existing parents and/or carers to exchange information and be more involved in the provision.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• help all children to develop their independence and confidence so that they benefit from persevering at tasks and actively share their own ideas to help extend their learning
• enrich the learning and development opportunities offered in the outdoor environment, particularly for the babies and younger children.