Bright Futures

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy at this nursery. Relationships with staff are warm, and behaviour is good. Staff celebrate all children's achievements. Children are excited to take home a certificate that details their individual successes and to have this displayed on a 'proud cloud' in nursery. These achievements include: 'amazing reading', 'sitting in circle time' or 'telling the time on the clock'. Children are encouraged to talk about how they are feeling. A self-regulation area provides a space for children to be able to explore their feelings and access books and resources to help them to self-soothe if needed.

A love of reading is nurtured. Children are excited to read books with their friends and listen to stories adults read during the day. They are supported by staff to become confident communicators. Staff encourage children to talk at every opportunity. Early mathematics skills are taught through play activities, and staff introduce mathematical language. For example, when older children are playing with magnetic tiles that have numbers on, staff start to talk about adding and taking away. Children enjoy counting the staff members' fingers to find out the answer to these calculations.

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

• The manager has a clear vision for the curriculum in the nursery, which has a focus on the child at its centre. She works with staff to ensure that this is embedded and is meaningful for all children and staff. The team carry out observations and assessments of children's learning to ensure that children are making progress in all areas of learning.
• Children see themselves as readers. They confidently turn the pages and tell the story as they look at a book independently. When staff read a book to a group, all children are very excited to listen and get involved with counting how much food the 'hungry caterpillar' has eaten. Even the youngest children access books independently, while older children work their way through a pile of books they want to read.
• Children's independence skills are generally developed throughout the day. However, on occasion, staff can be too quick to intervene rather than encouraging children to persevere. For example, when a younger child appears to lose interest in an activity, staff are quick to pick them up and carry them to another activity. This does not help to develop children's ability to solve problems for themselves.
• Preparing children to be ready for school is a priority at this nursery. Staff spend time focusing on teaching key skills and experiences to help them get them ready for the next stage in their education. Staff in the pre-school room attend training to support early phonics so that they can help children to be ready for this when they start at school. They liaise with local schools where possible to find out what they can do to further enhance this transition for the children.
• Staff provide children with regular opportunities to learn outdoors. During a walk to a local pond, the toddlers engage in happy chat with staff. When arriving at the pond, children are very excited to see baby swans. Staff use this opportunity to introduce new vocabulary, such as 'signet'. Staff provide additional activities to further support children's physical development. These include regular music, dance and movement sessions, visits to the library and trips on the bus to a local forest.
• Parents praise the manager and staff and report that they feel the nursery is 'like family'. They enjoy the opportunity to see what their child has been doing everyday through the online app and feel that communication is good.
• Staff feel well supported. There are regular opportunities for supervision meetings, and they report that they feel listened to by the manager. The nursery engages with the local authority for support, when needed, and staff are encouraged to engage with training that will further support their practice.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• implement consistent strategies to support children to solve problems for themselves and further develop their independence skills.