Bright Horizons Wolfson Court Day Nursery and Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children flourish at this nursery. They show that they feel happy, safe and secure. This is because the manager and staff work hard to establish a highly effective key-person system. Children talk fondly about their key person and build exceptionally close bonds with them and all staff. Throughout children's time at this stimulating nursery, they remain deeply engaged in a wealth of wonderful and rich learning opportunities. This is because staff have an excellent understanding of what each child knows, their unique learning preferences and what they need to learn next. Children are curious and motivated learners. Staff make accurate judgements when it is appropriate to lay next to children to support their thoughts and ideas through rich interactions. Children become deeply absorbed in their choice of play. They study the features of toy dinosaurs and search for matching ones buried in soil. Staff entice children to recall familiar stories and introduce props where children learn about story sequencing. Babies use their senses to explore fresh flowers and persevere to push the stalks through an upturned colander. Older children pretend to be aeroplanes and staff challenge them to solve mathematical problems, such as addition. They work out how much fuel they will need to travel to different countries.

Staff are exceptional role models and have high expectations of children. This means that children show high levels of respect for others and develop excellent independent skills. Babies know to push in their chair when they have finished eating. Older children serve themselves the nutritionally balanced food and listen to each other speak during sociable mealtimes.

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

• The ambitious and meticulously designed curriculum is tailored to meet children's individual needs superbly through embracing children's interests. This results in confident and resilient children who have a genuine love for learning. They make excellent progress.
• Staff prioritise children's communication and language. They consistently respond to babies early vocalisations that help them to develop the pattern of conversation. Staff's sensitive use of questions motivates toddlers to express their thoughts. Pre-school children are highly articulate communicators because staff continue to build on what they say. Staff strategically introduce a range of new vocabulary to children and consistently value what children say by giving them their undivided attention. This helps children to make excellent progress in their language development.
• Staff enrich learning with trips within the community. For example, children develop a deep understanding of occupations and structural designs following a visit to a construction site. Highly knowledgeable staff continue to extend this experience in nursery. They encourage children to recall what they learn through their imagination. Children eagerly work together to build large models using construction resources. They are excellent problem solvers and critical thinkers.
• Children's positive behaviour and respect for others is embedded in staff practice. Staff skilfully identify pertinent moments in children's play to help them to identify and understand their own emotions. Dedicated calm areas prove to be a welcome retreat. Children independently use breathing techniques that staff teach them. This successfully helps them to regulate their behaviour.
• Children are incredibly confident and relish in exploring new situations and activities. This is because staff successfully prioritise children's well-being and emotional growth through the nursery's bespoke nurture approach. Children demonstrate a strong sense of belonging and are highly inquisitive. They warmly welcome visitors to their nursery and delight at introducing themselves. Staff support children's wonderful dispositions by creating an environment where children's opinions are truly valued.
• Partnerships with parents are of an exceptionally high standard. An active parent committee provides immense support to families who relocate from overseas. Parents appreciate how staff keep them well informed about their children's progress. They describe the staff team as 'amazing' and comment how the nursery exceeds their expectations.
• The inspirational manager is passionate about her role in supporting staff to continue to excel in their knowledge and skills. Staff benefit from highly effective training opportunities that support them to deliver exceptional care and teaching to all children. Recent training has further enhanced their understanding of children's brain development and how cognitive circuits are formed to enable children to process and respond to new information. The manager welcomes teachers from local schools to visit the nursery to enable staff to share their outstanding practice.
• Staff well-being is of the utmost importance to the management team. The provider implements sensitive and well-considered strategies to ensure that staff are happy in their roles and morale remains high. This means that staff enjoy coming to work and are enthusiastic about helping children to thrive.
• Staff make the very best use of the stimulating outdoor environments to provide all children with a high level of challenge to build on their physical skills and assess risks from a young age. Babies swiftly learn to balance on a slightly raised platform and develop excellent core muscles through superbly supported tummy time. Older children know how to safely carry large equipment to build their own interpretation of a car.