Balfour Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are well settled and are happy to separate from their parents on arrival. Staff form strong attachments with children. This results in children feeling safe and secure in this environment. They explore and enjoy the learning and play opportunities provided. Children form positive relationships with their teachers and peers. Children have the opportunity to make choices. For example, within the baby room children select singing props from a bag. This indicates to the adult the song they would like to sing. In the pre-school room, children vote on which book they would like to read. Staff giving children choices supports children's self-regulation.

Staff have good knowledge of children's learning and development. Staff therefore plan activities which capture all children's interest and imagination. For example, older children enjoyed the opportunity to use salt to melt ice. This allowed the Lego that was stuck to release from the ice. Children further use paint brushes to spread the salt around the ice block. Children behave really well. They are polite and considerate towards their friends. While in the garden, children offer each other a hug to keep each other warm in the cold. Staff act as good role models and remind children of expected behaviours. Children have a good understanding of the rules within the setting. Children develop skills in turn taking. The children within the toddler room and pre-school wait for their turn to wash hands before meal times. Staff praise them for good waiting and taking turns.

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

• Partnership with parents is highly valued. Staff work hard to support progress at home. Home-learning packs provided support to parents during the pandemic. Parents speak very positively about the nursery. They describe the friendliness, support and care of the staff team. The setting shares children's care routines and learning on an online app which parents view from home. Parent involvement helps to support children's learning in all areas of the curriculum at home.
• Staff use dialogue to engage the children while reading a book. This helps the children tell the story. For example, child shared their ideas while listening to a story. Younger children have opportunities to sing songs and rhymes supported with actions. This practice supports early literacy skills.
• Staff know what their key children need to learn next and help children to build on what they can already do. Staff provided play dough to support children's fine motor skills. Younger children have opportunities to use utensils to mix edible messy play. This ensures that all children make good progress in their learning.
• Leaders identified communication and language as an area of need for children. This is due to COVID-19 and children being at home indoors. They therefore plan activities to support this area of learning in all rooms. Leaders do seek support from professionals when needed. However, there is no individualised support for children with delay in communication and language. As a result, children with identified language delay do not always receive early input.
• Children have opportunities to develop their gross motor physical skills, indoors and outdoors. They engage in large, high-impact physical movement, led by a sports coach. For example, they balance bean bags on their heads while moving around at a fast pace backwards. The children negotiate their space well to avoid colliding. Younger children are supported to confidently climb up and down stairs by a member of staff. Staff support younger children to climb up and down stairs with confidence. This supports children's physical health.
• Children enjoy healthy nutritious meals prepared on site. These meals are reflective of children's cultural backgrounds. Staff encourage knowledge about food through discussions about how food grows. Children learn the importance of brushing their teeth during their play. Staff set up a role play area with props and visuals to support and encourage oral hygiene. This supports children's healthy eating habits and encourages self-care routines.
• Children display independence. Older children are confident in recognising their names and speaking within a group. Staff encourage children's self-help skills. For example, when children come in from the garden they remove their coat and hang it on their peg. Children use appropriate cutlery to eat their lunch. Younger children know the daily routine.
• The provider uses additional funding to ensure that all children access the full curriculum. Staff understand the children's starting point, progress and next steps in learning. This includes children with English as an additional language, special educational needs and/or disabilities. This early intervention ensures that all children within the nursery make good progress.
• Staff feel well supported by their leaders. The manager spends time in the room and observes the practice of the staff. The manager meets with the staff individually during supervisions to help improve their practice and develop progress. Staff are provided with the opportunity to attend training online, in-house and externally. The manager and provider value their staff team and seek out opportunities to develop their knowledge further. Children benefit from the knowledge of well-skilled teachers.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• plan targeted support to help children catch up in their communication and language.