Banana Moon Rothwell

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children quickly settle into play at this welcoming nursery. They are highly motivated to play and are very independent. Children persist on tasks, focusing as they thread pipe cleaners onto a wooden tree. They feel safe and secure and express their views. Children talk about how 'Rapunzel' feels as the witch climbs her hair, and they stomp to show anger. They are introduced to new words, such as 'lonely', and share their feelings. Staff have high expectations for children's development.

Children are very confident and communicate very well. They have lots of opportunities to lead their play and explore their talents. Children build a wall of bricks to jump over, taking this outdoors to create a balancing beam over a tractor tyre that is a bigger jump. They talk about the 'Grand National' as they race around the obstacle course they have made. Children manage their own risks by asking staff to move objects in their way.

Children are happy and show positive engagement and concentration. They draw pictures of planets and learn the names, such as 'Mercury'. Children behave exceptionally well as they ask if they can 'please borrow the green crayon'. They take pride as they show visitors their creations displayed on the wall.

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

• The manager is highly ambitious and maintains high standards of practice for children, staff and families. Leaders promote highly focused professional development for staff through training, staff meetings and professional discussions. Staff are happy and demonstrate high levels of well-being. The strong, shared values ensure children receive an extremely high quality of learning.
• Staff are highly knowledgeable about their children, next steps and background. They identify possible gaps in learning and implement ways to close the gaps, following children's interests well. The nursery goes above and beyond to give experiences to meet children's needs. Leaders use additional funding well to enable all children to thrive in their development.
• The bespoke curriculum is well embedded and there is a sequenced approach to learning. Staff promote babies' fine motor skills through malleable activities, in preparation for older children learning to hold a pencil. Staff extend children's learning through the variety of challenge in activities.
• Children are very happy and confident. The relationships between staff and children reflects the strong key-person system. Excellent links with parents create a joint approach to supporting children. Staff support families and share ideas. For example, they offer books about a new sibling or toilet training, so there is a consistent approach. Regular parents' evenings enable detailed discussions about children's development.
• Babies demonstrate high levels of independence, including through self-serving at lunch. They say 'please' as they get their water cup. Babies develop excellent physical skills, pulling themselves up to scoop and pour in the sand tray. Older children thrive in their independence as they scrap their lunch dishes. They decide to use the cosy spaces to rest and wash their hands after wiping their nose.
• Staff are very attentive to children, engaging in conversations and extending their thinking. The nursery is language rich with books, magazines and talking. Children's memories and communication skills are exemplary as they recall stories. They are highly engaged with stories, which are expressively read by staff. Staff support emotional literacy, as children draw pictures of their family and say how they are feeling. Staff extend vocabulary in context, such as 'sharpening' a crayon. Babies' language is strong as they name toys that they pass each other, such as 'ball' and 'train'.
• Mathematical development is sequenced very well. Counting and size concepts are weaved through the daily routine. For example, children count 'two' meatballs for their lunch. Babies hear numbers as staff count the scoops they make into buckets. This enables children's mathematical knowledge to develop very well in preparation for school.
• A strength of the nursery is its inclusive practice. All children, including those who are disadvantaged and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities make excellent progress. Children feel very safe and approach all staff for support and comfort. The special educational needs coordinator ensures children achieve the best possible outcomes and thrive in their development. Referrals to professionals are swift, meaning exemplary support is accessed early.