Barnowls Nursery Limited

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The manager has a clear intent for the curriculum and what children will learn. This encourages them to be independent and active, develop a love of books and reading, and communicate effectively. There is also a focus on encouraging children to use mathematics in their play. The curriculum is successful because of its simplicity. All staff know and understand what children need to learn, and it is successfully implemented across all the age ranges. As a result, children do well at the nursery. They arrive with enthusiasm and show eagerness and excitement for their learning. Staff appreciate that teaching is a two-way process and that they need to stand back, at times, and allow children to absorb new learning. Children show their ability to put their learning into action. For example, they use counting and simple addition throughout the day. At lunchtime, children realise that two extra chairs are needed for all children to be able to sit down. Younger children count during songs and rhymes and begin to place numbers in the correct order.

Staff provide children with nurturing and genuine care and affection. They are superb role models for how to treat people with kindness and respect. Children replicate this in their interactions with each other. Children's behaviour is excellent.

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

• The manager involves staff in developing and shaping the curriculum for children. Therefore, staff are fully invested in ensuring that they implement it effectively. Their astute observations and assessments of children's good progress confirm the success of the curriculum.
• Staff put very well-targeted plans in place for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They know children and their needs extremely well. Staff refer children swiftly to outside professionals, when needed. They are tenacious in ensuring that children receive the right support to help them to meet their full potential at the nursery. Consequently, children with SEND make excellent progress from their initial starting points.
• Children grow increasingly confident in meeting their own personal needs. They are becoming proficient in feeding and dressing themselves and using the bathroom. Young children begin to make choices about where and how they play. Older children are given the very special job of being the 'daily helper'. This boosts their confidence, and they take the responsibility of handing out lunch boxes and water bottles very seriously.
• Staff promote children's communicate and language skills well. They provide a commentary for children's play and engage in conversation with them. For children who are non-verbal, staff use sign language to help them to express themselves. This is effective in helping all children to have their views, feelings and emotions known in the nursery.
• Cosy and enticing book corners appeal to children. Staff read to children and encourage them to enjoy looking at books by themselves. Children climb into book reading 'boats' made from baskets. This gives them a quiet, snug space to enjoy searching through the pages of their favourite books, looking at characters they recognise.
• Children take great delight in growing fruit and vegetables in the nursery garden and talk with authority about how they have helped their pumpkins to grow. The manager has made links with the local community to develop the garden area. This helps to contribute towards the highly exciting outdoor areas where children play.
• Staff embrace diversity and celebrate what makes children unique, including finding out about their home lives.
• Staff use different ways of communicating with parents about their children's progress. This is successful in the pre-school and parents are satisfied with the level of information they receive. However, in other areas of the nursery, parents would like more information to help them to understand the progress children make and to support their next steps.
• All staff are well qualified and undertake some training to enhance their good knowledge. However, supervision sessions for the manager and staff do not consistently provide them with ways to enhance their personal effectiveness even further.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• expand on communication with parents to provide all parents with enough information so that they feel confident in supporting children's learning at home.
• develop supervision for the staff and manager to provide them with feedback that enables them to enhance their practice and increase their confidence in their roles.