Berwick Rascals Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff build superb relationships with children at this nurturing and welcoming setting. They form very close bonds and get to know children and their families well. Children are extremely happy, settled and secure. Staff help to create a warm and calm atmosphere for their learning as they explore books independently and investigate with balls and sensory toys. Support for children's personal, social and emotional development is outstanding. Staff put in place secure and well-considered daily routines. These help children to feel a sense of ownership, inclusion and belonging. For example, staff support children to confidently register themselves into the setting and find their own peg and tray. Staff encourage children to welcome each other at circle time and talk about how they are feeling that day. Staff discuss with children the weather and what children need to wear to keep themselves warm and well.

Children show very high levels of focus and concentration as they stack cubes and stick straws onto paper. They are willing to have a try and persist with trickier tasks, such as peeling their fruit themselves at snack time. Staff encourage children to make simple choices, such as voting for which book they would like staff to read. This helps children to learn about fairness. Children's behaviour is excellent. Staff support them to take turns and share tools, for example, as they practise with scissors and stamp marks into dough.

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

• The setting's curriculum is very thoughtfully considered and designed with specific cohorts of children and their needs and interests in mind. It is clearly sequenced to support the patterns of children's development and puts an emphasis on embedding, as well as extending, learning.
• Staff are very clear about what they want children to achieve and how best to prepare them for school or the next stage of their learning. Exceptional partnership working means that these goals are identified in partnership with parents and school staff.
• Staff demonstrate consistently high levels of quality interaction, both inside and outside in the enclosed garden. They model new skills, give clear instructions and provide ideas to children to help them develop their ideas and play. They provide excellent support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Staff plan outstanding support for children's developing communication and language skills. They skilfully ask questions that encourage children to use language and give detailed replies. Children hear lots of descriptive language as staff chat to them about their play.
• Children take part in singing and action rhymes. They learn about rhythm and the construction of words as they clap the number of syllables in their friends' names. Where children need additional support, staff use specific programmes to help boost children's language. When planning activities, they consider new words they would like children to learn.
• Staff plan outstanding support for children's physical development. Children use wooden mallets to hammer pegs into pumpkins. They use tweezers and tongs to fill containers with coloured spaghetti. This helps to strengthen their finger muscles in preparation for skills, such as using scissors and early writing.
• There is an extremely strong focus on early literacy. Children enjoy favourite stories and explore new books. Staff provide a learning library for parents and encourage storytelling at home through bedtime reading challenges.
• Staff build very strong relationships with parents who speak very highly of the setting. They ask parents about their ambitions for their children and what is important to them in terms of their children's achievements. Staff use stickers to help parents initiate conversations with children about what they have learned and enjoyed that day.
• Children engage with their local community and learn about life outside the setting. For example, they take part in Easter egg hunts and church nativities. Children take part in nature walks where they collect conkers. They help make soup, listen to musical instruments and enjoy walks to the local dock to watch the boats come in.
• The setting provides outstanding support to staff for both their professional development and well-being. This includes regular meetings, team-bonding days and observations of practice. Staff benefit from very strong opportunities to develop their skills and knowledge through training and networking events.
• Professional and committed staff at all levels work extremely well together as a team. They constantly evaluate the experience for children, who are at the heart of everything they do.