Bainton Road Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The nursery managers are inspiring. They are very passionate about the nursery and doing the very best they can for the staff, children and families. Managers and staff strive to provide the highest quality care to enable children to achieve the best possible outcomes. They place children at the heart of anything they do to ensure their needs always come first. Children thrive in this caring, dedicated nursery. Managers develop a highly ambitious curriculum for all children. Alongside staff, they plan engaging activities, which children eagerly join in with. For example, children are very excited to act out their favourite stories in the garden. They recall and repeat familiar parts with great enthusiasm. Behaviour is exemplary. Children are kind to others and offer help, such as holding their peer's hand when they struggle to climb tyres outdoors.

Partnership working is exceptionally strong. Managers and staff build trusting relationships with families. Parents comment that the nursery is part of their extended family. They say children love sharing their stories and learning with their wider family who often live overseas. Managers and staff also work very closely with other professionals. This is to ensure all children receive the additional support they need in a timely way. They secure additional funding to enable them to effectively give targeted close support to children who need it.

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

• Managers share their vision and curriculum intentions with staff through meetings and being present in the rooms daily. The curriculum is based on play and children's current interests. Their ultimate intention is to foster a love of learning, songs, stories and books. Managers have high expectations of staff and children. The curriculum is securely embedded through the nursery. All staff know and understand the curriculum and intentions for individual children's learning. This enables them to teach effectively and ensure children make rapid progress and any gaps close swiftly.
• Staff know all the children and their families incredibly well, especially their key children. Staff's interactions with children are very strong. Staff give children time to think and share their ideas and answers. They skilfully wait so children can think and respond to questions, such as asking what happens next in a story. They adapt their interactions guided by what they know about individual children, for example, giving less confident children the space they need to engage. Staff do their absolute best to ensure children thrive and make the progress they are capable of.
• Staff gather relevant and extensive information from parents when children are settling into nursery life. Managers and staff fully embrace and focus on children's individual needs and what they need to transition into the care of the nursery. They recognise this is an important time for children to build attachments with key staff. The key person seeks detailed information from parents about children's experiences before attending nursery and their current development. Staff then use a comprehensive baseline assessment to decide on a learning focus for each child. This enables them to plan precisely for children's ongoing learning and development.
• Staff expertly promote children's speaking and listening skills. They seamlessly teach children new words as they play and take part in daily routines. Staff use simple signs to support their communication with children, who also use these naturally from a young age. Staff provide children with opportunities to develop a love of books, and they read to the children throughout the day. There is a lending library of books and story sacks, which children can take home and share with their parents. Children make very good progress with their communication and language skills.
• Managers are very reflective and aware of their own strengths and areas where they could improve even further. They prioritise professional development for themselves and the staff team. This enables them to build knowledge and skills and support improvements in teaching and outcomes for children. Managers act as fantastic role models for staff and children, spending time working directly with children for part of each day. This also helps them to closely monitor staff practice and to support anyone needing a little extra guidance.
• Children's home languages are continuously celebrated and valued. Staff encourage children to use these alongside English. Staff learn key words and basic counting in children's home languages and use this as part of their daily interactions with them. Children enjoy counting in their home languages and also those of their peers. Staff invite parents to help them create books with photos and information about ten key things from their home country. This helps children to talk about their culture and to feel valued and respected.
• The arrangements for special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are robust. Managers and the staff team have an excellent understanding of how to refer children to the right agencies. This helps them get the support and intervention they need. They work very closely with parents and other professionals to ensure this happens in a timely way. Parents report that they are delighted by the support given to them and their children, particularly when seeking a diagnosis or applying for an education, health and care plan. This supports children with SEND achieve the best possible outcomes.