Brindle St Joseph's Nursery Group

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff create an oasis of interesting opportunities for children indoors and outside. Children are happy, develop close relationships with staff and demonstrate that they feel safe when attending nursery. Staff know what children need to learn and use their emerging interests to motivate children in their learning. For example, an interest in forest-based experiences resulted in children eagerly applying their knowledge in new situations, such as when playing in the garden vegetable patch or planting sunflowers. As a result, children are confident and enthusiastic learners who demonstrate positive 'can-do' attitudes. Staff gather detailed information about children when they first start to attend. This is used effectively to ensure that each child's experience is carefully tailored to their individual needs. Staff use their observations and assessments of children's progress to develop a unique and well-sequenced curriculum. All children make good progress from their starting points.

Staff have high expectations of children. They are effective role models who teach children the importance of good social skills. Children consistently use good manners when playing alongside each other. They take turns and share toys and can be regularly heard saying 'excuse me' when they wish to pass by their friends. Children are praised for their good behaviour and demonstrate kindness towards each other and adults. This contributes to a wonderfully calm and harmonious learning environment.

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

• Children are incredibly curious and welcome visitors to their setting. They eagerly discuss what they are doing and ask staff questions to help them understand things further. Staff engage enthusiastically with children. They talk about what they see children doing and introduce new vocabulary. That said, there are occasions when staff do not ask questions that encourage children to think and respond to help develop their communication skills more fully.
• Children enjoy sharing stories. They call on staff to sit with them as they read their favourite books while sitting on a rug under the trees. Children look at the pictures and talk about what they can see. They recognise some of the sounds in the new words staff introduce to them. Opportunities such as these help children to develop a love of literacy and enhance their early reading skills.
• Children delight in playing in the beautiful and interesting outdoor area. Staff skilfully provide opportunities for children to revisit past learning and experiences. For example, children remember how to build dens using a range of materials. They sit around the pretend campfire, toasting 'marshmallows' and laugh as they recall occasions when a seagull stole their sandwich at the seaside. Children who prefer to learn outside can practise their skills in their preferred environment.
• Children learn about a variety of different cultures and how people are similar and different to themselves. Staff frequently take children on trips to places of interest in the local community and beyond. This helps children to gain an understanding of where they live and helps to prepare them for life in modern Britain.
• Managers work closely and support each other and staff on a day-to-day basis. They offer supervision opportunities to staff, meeting regularly to discuss aspects of their role. Managers observe each other and staff as they interact with children. However, they do not routinely identify areas of practice that could be improved, to help enhance their own and staff knowledge and skills even further
• Parents are highly complementary of the staff team. They value the support they receive and the warm and friendly environment created by staff. Staff share information about each child's progress with their parents. Home loan activity packs provide parents with ideas they can try at home. This supports parents to contribute to their child's learning at home and helps to ensure a consistent approach between home and nursery.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• consistently ask questions that encourage children to explain and share their thinking in order to build further on children's good communication and language skills
• build upon existing staff supervision arrangements and precisely target areas of practice that can be further enhanced in order to enhance knowledge and skills to a consistently high level.