Bright Horizons Highams Park Day Nursery and Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and settled at this warm and welcoming nursery. Staff and children develop secure relationships, and children clearly feel safe in their care. This enables children to explore their surroundings with confidence, making decisions about how and what they wish to play with. Staff know their key children well. They can describe their individual interests and next steps of development. Staff use this knowledge to plan learning opportunities for children. This leads to high levels of engagement and interest in the activities on offer. For example, babies select interesting musical instruments to shake and bang in the garden. They enjoy their familiar staff singing nursery rhymes to accompany their music.

Staff work together to deliver embedded routines and expectations of children. They actively teach children to share and take turns with resources and to solve problems for themselves. This leads to a calm and purposeful atmosphere in which children make positive behaviour choices. For example, children independently line themselves up and patiently wait for their turn to use a scooter. Children play cooperatively, communicating with each other in a positive and supportive way. For instance, they ask each other what they are cooking in the outside mud kitchen and laugh as they pretend to flip pancakes together.

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

• Leaders are clear about what they want children to learn across the different curriculum areas. They describe learning intentions that are coherently sequenced to ensure that children make progress over time. For example, babies learn how to drink from an open cup, toddlers learn to self-serve at mealtimes and pre-school children learn to put their shoes on the correct feet. This sequencing of skills ensures that children develop their independence in readiness for school.
• Staff receive training to continually improve their practice. For instance, they are trained to lead music and movement sessions, and do so with skill and enthusiasm. Children enjoy playing with rhythm and rhyme in these highly interactive and engaging sessions. The repeated nature of these sessions helps children to make good progress with their listening and attention skills, and their ability to follow instructions is notable.
• Staff observe and engage with children during child-led learning, commenting on their play and asking simple questions. For example, they ask what children are painting or drawing. However, at times, staff are satisfied with simple answers from children and do not support them to develop their thoughts and conversations further. Despite this, children do become confident and articulate communicators over time.
• Through play, staff help children to develop an early understanding of number.
• For instance, staff encourage pre-school children to put numbered cones in order as part of an outdoor scooter activity. They encourage children to count as they climb stairs. This puts numbers into context for children and prepares them well for their next stage of learning.
• Staff are quick to praise children during activities, building their confidence and self-esteem. This is seen as children confidently approach adults to ask questions or share their ideas. However, staff often say 'well done' or 'good job' without any explanation as to what children have actually done well. This means that the praise sometimes lacks meaning for children as they do not understand what they are being praised for.
• Leaders have recently refurbished the outside area to better support children's physical development. For example, children enjoy navigating space on bicycles and scooters. They work together to 'paint' the fence with water, using rollers and paintbrushes of various sizes. They are keen to water the nursery's tomatoes. Children also show an awareness of looking after their skin in the sun, demonstrating the healthy habits they are developing.
• Leaders and staff are committed to working in partnership with parents and carers. They host information evenings and provide regular updates about children's learning and development. The strong use of an online app allows for observations to be shared in both directions. Parents share that leaders and staff are approachable and responsive, and that the pastoral care is 'above and beyond' expectations.
• Leaders are well supported by a wider network of directors and specialists. For example, there are specialists to support with the early identification of children who may need additional help to thrive in their development. Leaders invest in the development of their staff, and staff comment positively about the support and training they receive.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• improve staff's knowledge of how to question children more effectively to encourage children to think and extend their conversations
• ensure that staff are clear about what they are praising children for, to make praise meaningful for children.