Bright Kids Northfield

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enter a welcoming and relaxed environment. Staff take pride in making sure that activities and resources are attractively displayed and capture children's interest as soon as they enter their rooms. Children separate well from their parents and settle quickly into their play. Effective routines for gathering key information from parents about their children enables staff to build a clear understanding of their interests and abilities. Staff use this to plan a curriculum that continually supports and enhances children's learning and takes account of their next steps. Babies enjoy exploring the sand, feeling it with their hands and watching as it falls through their fingers. Toddlers make marks using a variety of tool,s including paintbrushes, sponges, pencils, paints and chalks. Pre-school children use various construction materials to create models of cars, trucks and planes and talk about what they have made.

Relationships between children and staff are strong. Staff support children to recognise their emotions through discussions and the use of stories and emotion stones. Older children confidently explain the golden rules of the nursery, which include having 'kind hands', using their listening ears and saying please and thank you. Staff reassure children when they are wary of visitors to the setting and affection is readily given and received. Children's self-esteem and confidence is nurtured through praise and encouragement and children show pride in their work and achievements.

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

• Leadership and management are strong. Leaders have a good overview of what is happening in the nursery, and recognise the different skills and abilities of the staff team. Ongoing monitoring of staff's performance means that professional development opportunities are sharply focused and support staff to continually develop their knowledge and skills. Staff well-being is given high priority. Leaders ensure that staff receive appropriate support and guidance in their role and recognise the achievements and dedication of the staff team.
• Children's health and well-being are supported consistently throughout the nursery. They enjoy freshly prepared meals that meet their individual dietary needs and preferences. Staff encourage children's awareness of foods that are good for their bodies and, as children develop independence, they are encouraged to serve their own food. Children learn good hygiene practises and the importance of washing their hands at specific times during the day. Staff also promote the importance of caring for teeth and children are keen to clean their teeth after meals. These routines build children's awareness of taking care of themselves.
• Children benefit from fresh air and exercise each day. They enjoy spending time outside in the garden, where they can run, climb and explore nature. Children use small tools to dig and rake soil to prepare it for various plants and seeds. They carefully look for worms and other insects and eagerly show staff and their friends what they have found. Children learn about the various stages of the growth, life and decay of plants and how to make compost. This helps children understand life cycles.
• Staff continually monitor the progress children are making and regularly share progress reports with parents. They also share ideas of ways parents can continue their child's learning at home. However, procedures for communicating with other professionals and settings children attend are not yet established.
• Parents are extremely happy with the learning opportunities staff provide for their children. They speak positively about the effective partnerships that develop from the start of their children's placement and continue throughout their children's time in nursery. Parents find the use of an online application an essential part of the effective communication that takes place. They comment that they enjoy reading what their children have been involved in while at nursery and the new skills they are learning. Parents are extremely pleased with the help given to them and their children to ensure that any additional support needed is accessed as soon as possible, to help meet their children's needs.
• Staff recognise that all children are unique individuals. They take time to speak to parents about their children's home language and look at ways they can support them in nursery. Children learn about cultural celebrations and events throughout the year, and resources reflect differing abilities and ethnicities positively. However, opportunities for children to see reflections of families that are different to their own are not yet established.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen partnerships with other professionals and settings children attend
• consider ways to provide opportunities for children to see reflections of families that are different to their own.