Bright Horizons Hatch End Day Nursery and Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children happily enter the vibrant and well-resourced nursery. Staff greet them with warmth and affection, which helps children to feel safe and secure. Children settle quickly after placing their coats on pegs with their photos on and are eager to start playing. Babies and toddlers babble and smile at staff's nurturing interactions. Staff give them the confidence to explore tactile activities and practise their developing mobility using physical equipment. Staff celebrate everyone's uniqueness. This helps the culturally diverse families and staff to feel respected, valued and included.

Overall, staff plan effective educational programmes that meet children's often complex needs and help all children to make good progress. Staff put in place focused interventions and work in excellent partnership with other professionals to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Children are keen learners and highly sociable. They behave well. Staff introduce fundamental British values through children's play. For instance, they teach children to respect each other, use manners, be kind and share toys with their friends. Children patiently wait for their turn to choose a song to sing. Staff use activities such as planting, growing and cooking sessions to help children to learn about healthy eating and where food comes from.

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

• Leaders manage the nursery well and deploy staff effectively across the building. Staff report their well-being is good and they feel supported in their work. Regular supervision sessions focus on staff's professional development, well-being and safeguarding knowledge. Staff report they feel valued in their work.
• Children love playing outdoors, which they can access freely. Staff support them to develop their large-muscle skills, such as by balancing on blocks, spinning in hoops, rolling balls and riding toy cars. Younger children hold staff's hands as they walk across foam brick stepping stones and jump off, then keep trying until they can do it on their own.
• Babies and children benefit from an environment rich in language. Staff recognise the importance of reading to children to help foster their enjoyment of books. Children join in, confidently pointing to the characters or objects on the page as staff name them. This provides young children with further exposure to language and builds on their growing vocabulary.
• Partnership working with parents and carers is strong. Staff share information with parents about their child's day, their next steps for learning and how parents can continue with their child's learning at home. Parents are exceptionally happy with the level of care and learning their children receive. They say that staff are friendly, welcoming and provide their children with amazing care.
• Staff help children to build their knowledge of the local community. For example, they take children on regular trips. Staff and children visit charity shops to help children to understand how their community supports others. Children also begin to learn about caring for the world they live in.
• Children learn about healthy lifestyles. They wash their hands before meals and after using the toilet. Staff remind them to drink water and teach them how to brush their teeth and keep them clean. Children enjoy social mealtimes and sit together around the table.
• Leaders and staff plan a stimulating curriculum that reflects children's interests. Children enjoy playing with a wide range of resources that are related to mathematics. For example, they explore natural materials, such as sand and water and make play dough. However, staff do not consistently include mathematical language and ideas into children's play to build on what they already know. This means that children do not have consistent opportunities to develop their understanding of early mathematical concepts.
• Overall, staff plan children's learning in a clear order. For instance, they help babies move from bottles to beakers. Staff encourage children to help to tidy up and serve their meals. However, staff do not consistently support older children to change their shoes independently before and after outdoor play. This does not consistently help children to develop the skills they need for school. As a result, they have fewer opportunities to build their independence and practise important skills for starting school.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review the teaching of mathematics so that children develop a deeper understanding of early mathematical concepts, suited to their age and stage of development
• support staff to make the most of opportunities for older children to develop all the skills they need for their move to school.