Blackbrook Nursery School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enjoy coming to this inclusive nursery. They confidently share their memories of planting strawberries and take visitors to see them. When they cannot find the strawberries, they make predications about who may have eaten them. Children feel safe and secure and are confident to express their own suggestions and opinions.

Children show positive attitudes towards their learning. As they excitedly find a snail, they carefully look at its features and show pride as they paint their own snail pictures. They predict the colours they will make by mixing two paints together. Children are extremely caring towards each other. They use their knowledge of feelings to tell staff members when their friends feel a bit sad. Children are kind and are learning how to label their own feelings and the feelings of others.

Children demonstrate high levels of independence. Younger children place out cups for their friends at mealtimes and attempt to pour their own water. Older children put on their coats, supported by photos to help them remember the steps to take. These opportunities help to promote children's self-help skills.

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

• Parents are extremely happy with the progress that their children have made since they have started at this nursery. They praise the 'amazing staff' for the 'huge' progress that can been seen with their children's confidence and communication and language development. They feel well informed about their children's learning and feel able to support their next steps at home.
• Children experience many opportunities to develop their mathematical skills. They count the spots on a dice as it is rolled and confidently hold up the correct amount of fingers. Children show great pride as they are able to count to the correct number. They are becoming increasingly confident with early mathematical concepts.
• Staff provide opportunities to widen children's experiences. They talk to the children about people who help us and spark their curiosity by inviting parents in to discuss the important jobs they do. Children delight in using torches as x-ray machines after learning about hospitals following one of these visits.
• Staff observe children and identify when a child may need some extra help in their learning. They swiftly develop targeted plans and seek advice from other professionals. However, assessments, including the progress check at age two, are completed at a set point for all children, regardless of their needs. Furthermore, leaders do not ensure that information gained from assessments are fully understood by staff. This means that not all staff consistently use agreed strategies throughout the day.
• Children confidently talk about how to keep their bodies healthy. They sing the 'happy birthday' song twice with great effort as they wash their hands, as they know this is how long is needed to wash away germs. They show off their clean teeth to their friends when they have brushed them. Children are learning about healthy practices.
• Staff ensure children learn a range of core stories and rhymes. Young children sit with excitement as staff slowly turn each page of books. Children hold puppets that link to the story and join in with some words. They use the crocodile puppet to eagerly 'snap' away the monkeys from the song. They demonstrate enjoyment of stories and songs and repeat new words that they have learned.
• Leaders place great importance on supporting children's social and communication skills. However, this is not yet embedded consistently. For example, during mealtimes, staff are deployed to carry out tasks and do not consistently engage with children and support their understanding of routines. This does not promote understanding of the expectations that are in place.
• In the main, leaders provide a curriculum that builds on what children know and can do, linked to their interests. However, leaders do not always ensure that all staff are confident how to implement the curriculum. Some staff are not always clear about what they intend for children to learn through the activities they provide.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen assessment to ensure all staff are confident with how this can influence their teaching, and the strategies to use to respond to individual needs
• strengthen the organisation of the daily routines to further support children's learning
• build on staff's knowledge of the curriculum intent, so that they are clear what leaders intend for them to teach all children.