Blue Elephant Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff successfully support all children to gain a secure foundation in their learning. They offer children a warm welcome and nurturing relationships which support children's emotional security. Children arrive happy, confidently separate from their parents and show they are ready to learn. Leaders have developed a sensory room to enable children who are feeling emotional to settle in a quieter space before moving into the main room. Staff supervise children well throughout the day and complete thorough checks so children can play safely.

The manager's curriculum places a strong emphasis on providing children with sensory experiences to support their language development and understanding of the world. Staff organise the daily routines to help pre-school children to practise the skills in readiness for school, such as concentrating for longer periods of time and gaining more independence.

Staff help children to understand the rules and the reasons these are in place. For example, they gently reinforce the expectation that children sit down at mealtimes and help children to understand that this is to keep them safe. Staff make excellent use of the daily routines to help children to learn about making healthy food and drink choices. They support parents to provide children with nutritious lunch boxes and provide them with guidance about safe food preparation to reduce the risk of choking.

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

• Strong leadership and effective self-evaluation has ensured continuous improvement at the nursery. Leaders have a clear vision and are committed to developing their practices to benefit children even further. They have made successful improvements to the outdoor area to provide children with exciting and challenging learning experiences. Leaders frequently liaise with the local authority to review the service they provide and keep well informed about new local initiatives.
• Leaders provide staff with purposeful supervision. They set staff targets which they regularly review and provide them with coaching and training to achieve these. Recent training has focused on improving how staff use books with children to support their early language skills.
• An effective key person system is in place and overall, staff make good use of their observations and assessment to inform planning and teaching. When children have a new key person, staff exchange information and spend time carefully reviewing children's achievements. This helps them to gain a comprehensive understanding of the children and their families.
• Leaders and staff value the partnership working with children's parents. Parents say they trust staff and appreciate the personal approach provided. Leaders organise a range of useful events to engage parents in their child's learning and provide guidance so they can support children's continued learning at home. Staff provide parents with regular updates about their child's progress.
• Leaders monitor children's progress closely and implement targeted support when children are not meeting their development milestones. This includes making timely referrals so that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive support from outside professionals.
• The manager has identified the learning priorities for children at different stages of development as part of their curriculum. This is ambitious and prepares children well for school. However, staff have not planned the pre-school learning environment as well as possible to ensure that children are challenged fully, especially when they are playing without adult intervention. This said, pre-school children are well-motivated to play with their friends and are engaged.
• The manager prioritises children's language development within the curriculum. Staff closely monitor children's language progress and provide purposefully planned communication and language sessions to help children who need further support. This includes adapting to the requirements of each child so they can make their needs and wishes known.
• The manager and staff are skilled in helping children to manage their feelings and behaviour in an age-related way. They help the younger children to understand and label a range of emotions and provide older children with strategies they can use to control their feelings. This includes practising a variety of breathing techniques.
• Promoting healthy lifestyles has been a current focus at the nursery. The manager and staff help children to understand where their food comes from and how it benefits their bodies. Children know that dairy products help their bones to grow strong. Staff teach children about the importance of good oral hygiene routines and limiting sugary food and drinks. Pre-school children know they should brush their teeth twice a day.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• plan the pre-school indoor learning environment to reflect the ambitious curriculum and extend the learning challenge for children.