Belbroughton Nursery Committee

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children benefit from a broad curriculum. Staff plan activities that they know children will enjoy and that help them to meet their next steps for learning. As a result, all children make good progress from their individual starting points. Staff set out the room before children arrive. Children enter happily and immediately become engrossed in their play. Staff forge positive relationships with children. They offer children additional support if they need it, and children seek out staff to join in their play or for a reassuring cuddle. Consequently, children settle well and are eager learners.

Children learn life and social skills, and independence in readiness for school. Staff recognise that if children have these skills, it is the basis on which future learning is built. Children independently make choices in their play. They are beginning to take care of their own personal needs, such as visiting the toilet and washing their hands. They can take off their slippers and put on their outdoor shoes and coats. Children are polite and learn how to share and take turns. Staff implement the same strategies for gaining children's attention as they use in school. They ring a bell to give children a two-minute warning that it will soon be time for them to tidy away or move to another activity. Children respond to this positively.

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

• Ofsted has not been notified of changes to the committee in a timely way. However, this has been rectified immediately. In addition, the committee members have a Disclosure and Barring Service check, have no contact with the children, and are not involved in safeguarding issues or recruitment. Therefore, the impact on the children is minimal.
• The setting benefits from a strong manager. She undertakes research and training to continually update her professional development. She has high expectations for staff and works to their strengths. She continually checks their knowledge through monthly quizzes and provides them with training courses to complete within a set time. As a result, the manager and staff are reflective of their practice and continually look for ways to improve and move forward.
• The manager is extremely knowledgeable about how children learn. She recognises that children learn in different ways, depending on their age and stage of development. She continually adapts and evolves the curriculum to meet the individual learning needs of the children.
• Staff swiftly identify any gaps in children's learning and share this information with parents and other professionals to ensure that children receive the right help at the right time.
• Children's communication is given high priority. The manager recognises that the use of comforters can hinder children's speech, and she works closely with parents to share this information. Staff plan activities to support communication. They model the pronunciation of words and encourage children to use their voices to ask for what they want and to communicate their needs.
• Children take part in group activities. They can recognise and name animals from photographs. They listen as staff play the sounds of the animals and are eager to match the corresponding picture to the sound. However, sometimes activities are not organised well enough to ensure all children are fully involved and able to participate, to help them get the very best from their learning.
• Staff introduce activities to support children's developing physical skills. Children explore an obstacle course that is on different levels. They learn to take risks as they carefully balance, step over a small space and jump. However, staff do not give children time to consolidate their skills before introducing different aspects to the activity. As a result, children become a little confused and the main intent of the activity is sometimes lost.
• Children are extremely confident. They chat to visitors, showing them their toys, and involve them in their play. They develop their imagination as they pretend to make ice creams for visitors and ask them what flavour they want.
• The manager works closely with the head and teachers at the adjacent school. She implements their suggestions into activities, such as the way that they want children to learn phonics and to carry out more physical movements to aid their early writing skills. Children are prepared well for the move on to school. They eat their lunch in the school hall and attend assemblies. The manager works in partnership with other settings children also attend or move from. This helps to ensure consistency in children's care and learning.
• The manager and staff involve parents in their child's learning. They share information with parents through verbal feedback and an online app, to help them to support children's learning at home. Parents are extremely pleased with the level of care and learning that their children receive. Parents say that it is a lovely setting, that staff are approachable, and children settle well.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• refine how activities are planned and organised, to support children's learning even more
• help staff to provide children with more time to consolidate their learning before moving them on or introducing different aspects into activities.