Barkston Ash Nursery School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are extremely excited and happy to arrive at this stimulating, safe and welcoming nursery. They confidently separate from their parents as they are warmly greeted by the knowledgeable and experienced staff, who know them well. Children form incredibly close and positive relationships with their key person. This contributes towards helping children to feel safe and secure.

Children make exceptional progress in this inspirational nursery. Managers are highly motivated to ensure all children get the best start in life. The nursery's ethos is to motivate, inspire and challenge children to achieve. Children demonstrate a positive attitude to their learning and thrive in the well-organised environment. Staff provide a variety of well-structured activities and experiences from a rich and stimulating curriculum. For example, children use binoculars to explore and search for frogspawn in the secret garden pond. Staff skilfully build on this, discussing the life cycle of frogs.

Children are sociable, friendly and behave exceptionally well. Staff are impressively good role models. They have high expectations of children and use a consistent and fair approach to managing children's behaviour. Children receive lots of praise and encouragement from staff. For example, children are rewarded with certificates for their good behaviour. Staff are particularly skilled in supporting children's emotional well-being to help them feel valued and safe.

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

• Staff have an excellent understanding of how children learn. They know their key children exceptionally well and talk confidently about the progress they have made. Staff's teaching methods are precisely aligned to meet each child's individual needs. They guide children through a range of experiences to build on what they already know and can do. Staff skilfully intervene at appropriate times to add value to children's learning and challenge their thinking skills. Children flourish at this highly nurturing nursery.
• Managers are highly reflective and keen to ensure high-quality practice is fully embedded. Staff receive regular observations and supervision sessions to identify strengths and areas for development. Staff are enthusiastic about their roles and express that they are extremely happy in their work. They appreciate the well-being support they receive. Managers ensure that all staff receive focused and effective professional development. This builds positive working relationships and makes staff feel valued.
• Children are highly independent. They confidently hang up their coats, find their names to complete self-registration and change to their slippers. If they need support, staff are close by. Children feed themselves and have mastered the skill of using a knife to spread butter on their crumpets at snack times. Staff support children to understand the need to wash their hands after using the toilet and before meals.
• Partnerships with parents are extremely strong. Staff keep parents well informed about children's achievements and their next steps in their learning. Children take home activities to support learning at home. Parents have the utmost praise for the nursery and staff. They say that staff go 'over and above' their expectations and provide their children with exceptional care. Staff invite parents to attend stay-and-play sessions and continuously share children's learning with them.
• Staff teach children how to lead healthy lifestyles exceptionally well. Children have lots of opportunities to be active. For example, they enjoy moving their bodies in a variety of ways to enhance their fitness. Children's appreciation of healthy living is enriched through visits from a dentist and role play to learn about good oral health. Children bring their own packed lunches and staff offer guidance to families in how to provide healthy and nutritious food for them to eat.
• Staff provide children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) with a highly inclusive learning environment. Children benefit from targeted interventions where a gap in their learning has been identified. Staff work in close partnership with parents, the local authority and a wide range of other professionals, such as educational psychologists. Managers seek additional specialist training for staff to ensure they are highly skilled and able to provide targeted support. Children with SEND achieve the best possible outcomes.
• Staff are highly effective at supporting children's communication and language development. Interactions between children and staff are exceptional. Staff play alongside children and reinforce language and narrate what children are doing. They ensure children are immersed in a consistent rich-language environment. In addition, staff attend specialist language training. Children are making excellent progress in their communication skills.