Belsize Village Nursery LTD

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and safe at this nursery. They build warm relationships with staff. Children approach staff for a cuddle or to excitedly show them what they are playing with. They respond well to the calm and positive staff team, who speak to children in warm and engaging voices. Children learn the importance of speaking kindly to each other. They benefit from staff, who work well as a team, speaking respectfully and politely to each other. This models positive interactions to children.

Children learn to make their own choices about their learning. For example, older children vote for which story they would like to hear. Babies take it in turns to choose the story they would like to hear from the book shelf. This helps children to begin to make decisions and to be excited about their learning.

Children make good progress in all areas of the curriculum due to the high expectations that staff have of what they can achieve. They develop their independence well. Children learn to put on their own coats and shoes from an early age. They use cutlery well and put their plates away after eating. Developing self-care skills such as these prepares children well for the next step in their learning journey, such as school.

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

• Staff make very good use of books and songs to help children to develop new language. They ensure that story time is a special time for children each day. Staff engage children in familiar songs throughout the day as they play. Children develop a love of books and expand their vocabulary through these stories and songs.
• Leaders implement a successful curriculum for physical development. Children develop their fine-motor skills as they use tongs to serve themselves, make marks with crayons and chalk and enjoy messy play. Staff plan many opportunities for children to develop their gross-motor skills. Children climb up stairs and slide down the slide, roll and throw balls and crawl through tunnels. This helps children to make very good progress in their physical development.
• Staff carefully consider the skills that children should achieve in their personal, social and emotional development. Children learn to take turns well through lots of opportunities to practise this. For example, children wait patiently for their turn on equipment, supported by staff. Children learn to work as a team as they play parachute games, lifting the parachute up together. Staff discuss how they and their friends are feeling and the reasons for this. This supports children to begin to understand their emotions and those of others. Developing important social skills such as these helps children to form relationships with their peers.
• Leaders work closely with the local authority to identify and support any children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). A specialist advisor visits the setting once a week to support staff to successfully implement strategies to help children with SEND to achieve their targets.
• Staff have a good understanding of what their key children know and the next steps in their learning. They plan learning opportunities to support them to achieve these next steps. This helps children to make good progress on their individual learning journeys.
• Leaders build strong partnerships with parents. They communicate with parents verbally about what their children have been doing and the progress they are making at nursery. Leaders plan several events to involve parents in nursery life, such as a recent tea to celebrate the King's Coronation. These strong parent partnerships help children to transition well between home and nursery.
• Leaders are reflective and continually strive to improve the setting for children. They carefully consider any areas which can be strengthened and work to improve these. For example, leaders are in the process of introducing a new app to support the communication with parents even more.
• On occasion, leaders do not consider how to ensure that transition times are predictable for children. For example, after lunch, babies play while staff tidy up and change nappies. The atmosphere within the room at this time is busy. This does not help babies to understand what comes next in their routine.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• consider how to embed routines more securely, particularly at transition times.