Babraham Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are highly motivated and eager learners. They have very good language skills for their age and use them very effectively to communicate their ideas as they play. Children relish using the new words they have learned. Very young children confidently say, 'more' or 'again' during an energetic singing session. They follow directions and jump up and down with enthusiasm. Practitioners revisit subjects to check children's understanding. They engage children in conversation and skilfully encourage them to think, question and make decisions.

Children behave exceptionally well. Practitioners help them to understand and control their feelings and behaviour. They give children the tools to do this effectively. For example, they remind children to use their words to explain why they do not like something. Children swiftly and amicably resolve their differences.

Children are exceptionally confident and thrive in practitioners' nurturing care. Their very strong attachments to their key person, provide the security for them to become absorbed in their learning and play. When babies are tired or upset, practitioners hold them close and gently comfort them. Children eagerly share their thoughts about their experiences at the nursery. They explain that they learn lots of things that are important.

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

• Children demonstrate that they feel safe and secure. They have formed strong bonds with practitioners. During the first COVID-19 national lockdown, practitioners kept in regular contact to ensure children's well-being and learning was well supported. They shared activities, such as play dough disco and read bedtime stories for children to watch online.
• Leaders and senior practitioners have designed an ambitious curriculum that ensures every child has the best possible start to their education. Practitioners have a detailed knowledge of their key children and use information from their observations to guide their planning. They closely monitor children's progress to identify any gaps in learning, so that these can be swiftly addressed.
• Practitioners give children many rich opportunities to develop their early writing skills. Young children give meaning to the marks they make, and older children form recognisable letters to write their own name. Children's work decorates the walls and practitioners write down their words to add to the display. This helps to support children's understanding of what they say can be written and read by someone else.
• Children thoroughly enjoy spending time outdoors. They explore the forest area, experiment with mud, play tunes on the musical wall or push themselves along on scooters to see how fast they can go. Practitioners know that spending lots of time outdoors, observing nature or being immersed in activities, improves children's physical health and well-being.
• Babies sleep peacefully outdoors under a wooden gazebo, where they are protected from the elements. They are wrapped up warmly and supervised closely. This has a positive effect on children, who sleep very well as they fall asleep to the sounds of nature and in the fresh air.
• Partnerships with parents are very well established and valued. Parents report how exceptionally well informed they are about their children's learning and provide very positive comments about their children's experiences at the nursery. They say that practitioners 'go above and beyond' to ensure that their child's welfare is secured. Parents say this reflects how they care deeply for the children and how well looked after they are.
• Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, thrive in all aspects of their development. Practitioners liaise very closely with parents and other professionals to ensure that each child receives the support they need. Leaders use additional funding to target specific areas of development for children and reduce any differences in their learning.
• The leadership and management of the nursery are exceptional. The manager has high expectations for all practitioners, ensuring they continually develop their skills and knowledge. Practitioners report that leaders give their well-being high priority, and they feel extremely motivated to do their very best for the children in their care. As a result, children flourish and develop the skills they need to support their future learning.