Bright Little Stars Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Leaders have developed a curriculum that is highly ambitious and carefully sequenced. Staff are skilled at delivering engaging activities with a clear learning intention. For example, older children develop their vocabulary during a game in which they describe hidden sea creatures for their friends to guess. Children demonstrate high levels of engagement and excellent listening and attention skills.

Staff have worked hard to embed routines and boundaries. Children understand what is expected of them and generally behave well. They play cooperatively together and respond well to reminders to use 'kind hands' and 'walking feet'. Staff offer frequent encouragement and praise for their efforts and achievements. This helps to build children's confidence and self-esteem.

Leaders have developed highly inviting outside areas, which encourages children to be active and physical in their play. Children go outside in all weathers and enjoy making choices from a wide range of engaging activities. They delight in observing and caring for the nursery's guinea pigs. Staff are skilled at enhancing and extending child-led play. For example, they model mathematical language as children build sandcastles together. Staff support children to develop good hygiene routines, such as washing their hands before eating and brushing their teeth after lunch. Children become increasingly independent in their self-care skills as they move through the nursery.

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

• The curriculum places a focus on building children's independence and encouraging them to make choices. Children build on their skills as they move through the nursery. For example, babies learn to spoon-feed themselves and select their own drinking cups. Older children pour their own water, get their own plates and cutlery and use tongs to serve themselves.
• Staff are strong models of spoken English. They ask questions and narrate as children engage in child-led play. For example, staff encourage children to use their binoculars to hunt for spider-webs, before singing 'Incy Wincy Spider' together. Singing can be heard frequently throughout the day and storytelling is a current priority for the nursery. Most children become confident communicators over time and demonstrate active listening during group activities. However, at times, staff do not consider how to encourage all children to remain engaged in large groups and encourage them all to contribute.
• Staff provide opportunities for children to explore early mathematical concepts. For example, staff challenge children to build towers of different heights and to create patterns, using a variety of small resources. Children then take this into their independent play. For example, a group of children talk about how many wooden blocks they need to ensure that their 'dinosaur castle' is big enough.
• Staff's interactions with children are consistently warm and supportive. For example, babies are quickly comforted by cuddles and reassurance from their key person. The key-person system is effective. Staff know their key children well and can talk about their progress and next steps in learning.
• The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) is highly knowledgeable and passionate about her role. She communicates well with other professionals and with parents to ensure a cohesive approach towards children's individual targets. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are included in all activities and make good progress from their starting points in development. However, while staff have put strategies in place to support children with SEND, these are not yet fully embedded. This is particularly evident during shared learning times, when some children find it difficult to access the learning.
• Leaders work hard to build positive relationships with parents. For example, they invite parents into the nursery to support their children to self-register in the morning. They have installed a secure parental webcam, in which parents can briefly observe their child from home. This helps to build trust between staff and parents. Staff provide parents with ideas to extend their children's learning at home. This supports children to discuss and embed their learning with their families.
• Leaders prioritise staff's well-being. They have a wealth of initiatives and benefits in place to ensure that staff feel supported and valued. Staff benefit from a variety of training opportunities, which has a positive effect on the quality of care and learning that children receive.
• Leaders are highly reflective about the nursery. There is a supportive and highly experienced senior leadership team that monitors practice and ensures that policies and procedures are consistently adhered to. Leaders also seek advice from external professionals to ensure continuous improvement.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• organise group times to ensure that all children remain engaged in their learning and are given opportunities to participate
• consider how staff are deployed and ensure that strategies are embedded to further support children with SEND to fully access their learning.