Big Dreams Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children form positive relationships with the nurturing and caring staff and have strong attachments with them. Staff show genuine care and affection for the children and know them well. Babies snuggle into staff when they are tired. Staff talk softly to the children and help them to fall asleep peacefully. Staff working with the older children are enthusiastic and act as positive role models. They give children gentle reminders to follow the rules, such as reminding them to use their 'walking feet'. Staff have also designed an area for children to go to should they need quiet time to help regulate their emotions.

The support for children's communication and language is a particular strength of this nursery. Children benefit from a dedicated speech and language therapist working on site. Children experiencing delays in their speech and language receive prompt support and focused sessions, enabling them to make very good progress. The recruitment of staff who speak some of the children's home languages enables the provision of additional support. Staff thoughtfully plan an array of play experiences and activities. Babies enjoy many sensory experiences and explore natural resources, such as leaves and pumpkins. Toddlers join in action songs with staff and older children enjoy a range of craft activities.

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

• The support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities is very good. Staff work in close partnership with parents and external agencies to bring professionals into the nursery to provide targeted support sessions. For example, a teacher for the deaf attends the setting to offer advice on supporting children with hearing impairments, and all staff are enthusiastically learning British sign language. Funding has been carefully considered to provide animal therapy sessions, and children delight in handling guinea pigs and chameleons.
• The management team and staff value children's views. For example, they have created a children's council in the pre-school room. These children help to make decisions at the nursery, such as what resources they would like to see in the rooms and garden. This gives children a voice and allows staff to understand what children like and dislike about their nursery.
• Staff plan interesting activities based on children's interests and learning needs. They take care to set out activities that are attractively displayed, such as small-world animal habitats, using coloured rice, foam and seeds. However, occasionally, staff do not successfully carry out what they have identified they want children to learn. Consequently, some children's engagement is not sustained to build on and maximise their learning.
• Staff understand the importance of promoting children's cultural capital and giving children experiences outside of the setting to help them to thrive. For example, children are taken to a nearby stream to splash in the water, and they go on walks to a local adventure farm park. They go on a bus to go fruit picking and invite fire fighters to come and visit.
• Staff teach children the importance of washing their hands before they eat. Children benefit from healthy, nutritional meals and staff encourage children to drink water regularly throughout the day. However, staff do not plan well enough for outdoor play. They do not plan as well for the outdoor learning environment as they do for the inside environment, and they do not make the most of opportunities to get children outside into the fresh air and let off steam.
• The management team is very supportive in its approach towards the staff team. Staff benefit from regular supervision meetings and training opportunities. Staff praise the management team and feel valued and well supported in their roles. There is a good focus on staff well-being, with the provider making the most of a recent well-being week to boost staff morale.
• Parents are highly complimentary about the staff and management. They comment on the good communication and how accommodating the team are. The staff team thinks of many ways to support parents, such as a parent lending library, 'stay and play' sessions and themed 'support bags' to help with different changes their children may experience at home, such as new siblings or first pets.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to implement the precise learning intentions of activities more effectively, so that children remain fully engaged and learning intentions are met
• support staff to develop the curriculum for the outdoor area to provide more varied and targeted learning experiences for children and to increase the opportunities children have for fresh air and physical exercise.