Bognor Regis Nursery School and Children's Centre

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The leadership team and staff put children's emotional well-being at the heart of everything they do. They establish nurturing and caring relationships with children and their families and all children demonstrate they feel valued as unique individuals. Babies and young children benefit from warm interactions and separate from their parents and carers without hesitation. They are extremely motivated and eager to engage in the wide range of stimulating learning experiences staff provide. For example, children select their favourite books and cuddle up with staff to read stories. They show high levels of perseverance as they look for props and dressing-up costumes, and retell the story in their own words. Staff know children exceptionally well. They are highly skilled and know when to stand back or offer children support.

Children's behaviour is exemplary. They learn to share and respect other children at a very young age. For instance, toddlers sing songs to babies. They are extremely kind to their younger peers, play games, such as peekaboo, with them and pass them resources of interest. Staff are excellent role models and use positive praise and reinforcement to help children manage their emotions and learn acceptable behaviour.

Staff have high expectations for every child. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language receive extensive additional support and encouragement to enhance their learning experiences. All children make rapid progress in their learning.

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

• Leaders and staff work highly effectively with parents and understand children's individual care and learning needs exceptionally well. They have an outstanding overview of the curriculum and ensure that it is tailored to each child's individual next steps and learning goals. Every opportunity is taken to stimulate children's interest and increase their knowledge.
• Staff are highly skilled at supporting children's early language and communication development. They illustrate this as they seize the moment to introduce new vocabulary as children engage in water play. Children concentrate as they pour water through resources, such as colanders, and with support sing songs about the rain. Staff continually models language as children listen to the sounds the water makes as it splashes onto different surfaces.
• The staff team are highly qualified and experienced. They have attended significant amounts of training to enhance all aspects of their practice and are encouraged to carry out their own research, which they disseminate to their colleagues. This leads to a skilful and highly organised staff team, who strive to ensure every child can reach their full potential.
• Children develop a wonderful love of books and stories. Staff display books in all areas of the nursery and have initiated strategies that give children opportunities to take home books to read with their parents and carers. This enhances children's learning exceptionally well.
• Staff have excellent partnerships with parents. Although parents are not entering the nursery, due to the pandemic, staff hold daily discussions at the entrance and share extensive information, including progress summaries through an online parent app. Parents comment on the excellent learning experiences that the staff provide for their children. They say staff offer them extensive advice, support and encouragement to help them continue with children's learning at home.
• Staff work exceedingly well together. The extremely organised daily routines promote children's understanding of behavioural expectations exceptionally well. Staff are tuned into the individual needs of each child and use an abundance of strategies, such as visual aids, to help children manage their feelings and regulate their behaviour.
• Staff pay excellent attention towards supporting children's healthy development. For example, children have wonderful opportunities to explore different fruits, such as in water play. They discuss how fruit is good for their bodies and the different ways they can enjoy them, such as in drinks or as a snack.
• Staff support children to develop excellent physical skills. Babies show high levels of perseverance, stretching their core muscles as they reach for objects of interest. Toddlers and young children scoop rice and sand with diverse tools and children aged under two years skilfully pour drinks and use cutlery. Children frequently spend time outside and benefit from fresh air and extensive physical exercise. They make decisions in their play, problem solve and move resources, such as crates and guttering to initiate their own games. Staff foster opportunities to promote children's understanding of personal safety and explain why they need to wear helmets when using tricycles, for example.