Bright Minds Nursery @ Kenton School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are very happy in this caring nursery. The nursery supports a large proportion of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Parents and carers express their delight at the care and support the staff give to the children. They feel that staff 'go the extra mile' to support children and their families. They comment that they think their children have made excellent progress. Children settle quickly. Staff respond to children's individual needs to help them to settle. For example, some children benefit from time in the sensory room to manage their emotions before they join their friends in the main room. Children learn how to keep themselves safe. For example, they learn how to use scissors with increasing control. Staff are always on hand to help toddlers as they climb into the see-saw or pull themselves up.

Staff have high expectations, overall, for what children can achieve. During the inspection, they work with older children, drawing a hopscotch. They talk about numbers with children and encourage them to think about what number comes next. Children behave well. They know they need to cooperate with each other when they play with toys with their friends. During the inspection, older children remind their friends that they need to share the play doctor's kit. Staff are on hand to provide support to children and help them to develop positive attitudes to their learning.

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

• Staff work very well with other agencies. Staff from the local authority say that the nursery 'do incredible work with children with SEND'. They say staff work incredibly well as part of a multidisciplinary team. Staff act on the advice of other professionals also involved in children's care and learning.
• The management team evaluate the quality of education provided. They have an accurate understanding of how they can improve children's learning experiences further. They use this knowledge to plan additional training and support to strengthen staff's skills further. For example, the team have provided training and support to staff to help them to give children more time to express their ideas. Management recognise that this still needs more work to strengthen teaching to a higher level.
• Children listen with enjoyment to stories. Staff read to them with excellent expression. They use good strategies to engage children. For example, staff working with older children encourage them to use actions to the story, 'We're Going on a Bear Hunt'. They bring the story to life as they pretend to get stuck in the 'thick, oozy mud'. This helps children to remain engaged and join in with repeated words and phrases.
• Children with SEND make very good progress. They learn to concentrate well on activities that they choose. Staff use good strategies to help children to remain engaged in activities. During the inspection, staff used timers to help them to concentrate. Children were deeply involved as they explored how they could pour water down the chutes outside. Staff have good strategies in place to help children to manage their emotions.
• The management team evaluate the quality of children's learning. They take effective action when they identify gaps in children's learning. For example, there has been a significant focus on personal, social and emotional development in the nursery. Focused group work and intervention sessions have helped children to make very good progress in this area and to catch up with their peers.
• Staff clearly enjoy their work. They feel that they are supported well by the management team. They plan a range of enjoyable and thought-provoking activities. For example, they plan activities to encourage children to explore how they can rescue sea creatures from the frozen ice. Children concentrate well as they explore how they can crack the ice.
• Staff know children well and know what they need to learn next. However, staff working with older children do not always use this information sufficiently well when supporting children's play and learning. For example, they miss opportunities for older children to talk about the sequence of a story as children re-enact it. Activities do not always provide an appropriate level of challenge because of this.
• Children learn how to keep themselves healthy. Staff give clear messages to children about the importance of healthy eating and exercise. They are vigilant and respond swiftly when children need their nappies changed or their noses wiped. They also provide messages to parents about how they can keep their children safe online. For example, they talk to parents about the dangers of online gaming.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• continue to provide training and support to staff and ensure key messages from training are consistently embedded to strengthen teaching even further
• use information about what children need to learn next to support their learning to an even higher level.