Bright Beginnings

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are very happy in this welcoming nursery. They form positive relationships with the other children. From a very young age, babies show a real interest and curiosity in the other babies and begin to develop an awareness of others. Staff interact with children well. They are kind and caring, and children quickly form strong attachments with them.

Leaders have created an exciting and ambitious curriculum. It takes account of each child's age and developmental stage and allows children to develop the skills they need for future learning. Babies and children have ample time to practise new skills and become competent in learning new tasks. For example, in the older baby room, in preparation for independent feeding, babies practise using spoons to scoop up coloured rice. They move the rice from one container to another, showing good levels of coordination.

Staff prepare children well before they transfer from one room in the nursery to another. They make sure that children have the skills they need to manage the more challenging routines. For example, before toddlers move upstairs to the pre-school room, staff make sure that children can confidently negotiate the stairs.

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

• The provider leads a dedicated team of staff that feels appreciated and valued for the work it does. Staff confirm they have access to regular training and progression opportunities. They meet with leaders regularly to review their practice and will often seek out further ways to develop their skills. Leaders monitor the quality of provision closely and set high expectations of themselves, the children and their team.
• The quality of teaching is good. From a young age, babies' attempts to babble and communicate with adults are valued and built on. Staff support the development of language through effective narration as babies play and explore. Staff further support children's love of stories by repeating favourite books, such as 'The Gruffalo' and 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar'. Children enjoy hearing these stories regularly and join in with refrains as they recall the sequence of the story. Toddlers develop good language skills as staff know them well. They use play experiences, such as role play, to help develop children's use of language through imaginative games.
• Children demonstrate very positive attitudes towards learning. They are actively encouraged to play, explore and develop curiosity as they experiment with new things. Staff help them to build confidence as they learn new skills and encourage them to try again when tasks are initially difficult. Throughout the routine, children have good opportunities to practise their skills. However, this is not used fully in pre-school at lunchtime, where staff often do things for children instead of letting them try for themselves.
• Children behave well and show care and respect for others. They are kind to their friends and play together well. For instance, toddlers work together to create a large-scale dinosaur model with staff. The daily focus on personal affirmations helps each child to feel special, valued and respected.
• The nursery provides a spacious, clean and nurturing environment. Children move around the spaces freely and easily. However, the organisation of pre-school is less effective in supporting children's learning. At present, children have to move rooms frequently, which sometimes interrupts their ideas and creativity.
• Parents are very happy with the level of care their children receive. Parents describe the staff as 'amazing'. Many parents praise the way in which new children settle into the nursery quickly and form positive relationships with the staff from a very early stage.
• All children make good progress in their learning and development, including children who need extra help. Provision for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities is good. Leaders work closely with parents and other professionals to identify each child's learning needs, and they then plan for these well. Funding is used appropriately to offer individual support for children who need it. This helps children to benefit from more focused teaching and accelerates the levels of progress they make.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• make better use of the lunchtime routine for older children to enrich their learning experiences
• improve the routines for older children to ensure their learning styles are continually planned for and their play and exploration are not interrupted.