Athersley Family Centre

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff warmly welcome children into the nursery. Children settle quickly with a variety of activities on offer. Staff invest time getting to know children when they start, and they carry out home visits as part of the settling-in process. This helps children to settle into the nursery's routines quickly and be ready to learn. Children join in activities and play alongside their friends. They are kind and respectful. For example, when children practise their balancing skills on a beam, they take turns and if they fall off, their friends help to pick them up.

Staff support children's learning in most areas by providing a wide range of learning opportunities. They have a good understanding of what they want children to learn. For example, children are encouraged to brush their teeth and sing a song about it while staff model how to brush teeth. Staff introduce new words and encourage children to repeat the words. This helps children to develop their language skills.

Children confidently explore and concentrate for long periods of time. Staff identify gaps in children's development. They work together with parents and external agencies to provide targeted support. This means that all children make good progress and achieve their learning goals. Staff give additional support to children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

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

• Leaders have created an ambitious curriculum that has been tailored to meet children's needs. The curriculum particularly focuses on supporting children's communication and language skills. Staff use stories, rhymes and singing to support their communication with children. They introduce new words as children play. This means that all children make good progress in their communication and language development.
• Staff find out what children know and can do. They ask parents about children's home experiences and plan activities that build on these experiences and children's interests. For example, staff know that some children have limited access to outdoor play at home. They provide daily opportunities for children to be physically active. For example, children ride bicycles, use obstacle courses and play with sand and water. This helps them to develop their large and small muscles.
• While staff focus on children's language, they do not consistently encourage their early mathematical skills in activities they participate in. For example, as children play with cars and build tracks, staff reinforce children's language but do not encourage early counting skills.
• Staff support children's learning with the activities on offer. Children chatter away excitedly. Staff are knowledgeable about what they want children to learn. However, staff do not consider what children already know and can do during some adult-led group activities. Therefore, children do not engage fully in the activities. For example, during a vegetable cutting activity, children are too young to hold the knives properly to cut the vegetables.
• Staff support children's independence well. For example, they encourage children to put on their coat and boots and wash their hands. Children spread cheese onto crumpets for their snack. Staff give children praise when they achieve their learning goals. This increases children's confidence and sense of self.
• Staff are passionate about supporting children with SEND. They work closely with parents and other professionals. Leaders use additional funding to provide more staffing to meet children's individual needs. This ensures the best outcomes for all children.
• Leaders have good oversight of the quality of care and education provided. They ensure that it is appropriate for all children. Leaders support staff through regular team and supervision meetings. They offer specialist training for the staff, for example forest school training. This helps staff to build on their teaching skills and enhance their professional development.
• Partnership with parents is a strength. Parents report having strong, trusting and informative relationships with staff and leaders. Parents are delighted with the good progress their children have made since attending the nursery.
• Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour. Staff support children to share things with their friends. When children become upset, staff notice and reassure them. This helps children to quickly settle and happily return to play.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop strategies to develop children's early mathematical skills more consistently during activities
• support staff to embed the curriculum fully and enhance their teaching skills during group and adult-led activities, to help children to make even better progress.