Brough Pre-School Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are warmly welcomed into this engaging and homely setting by staff who nurture children's needs exceptionally well. Staff are superb role models, welcoming children, talking with parents and finding out about children's needs for the day ahead. Staff skilfully focus on children's needs throughout the year. Currently, the focus is on supporting new children to settle and build attachments with their key person. Children who have only recently started at the setting throw their arms in the air and shout 'I am happy!', while young children put themselves to bed when they are tired. Children demonstrate they are completely settled and show high levels of security.

The curriculum is sequenced and finely tuned to support children to explore new experiences, recap on prior learning and develop important skills for future learning. Children are independent and persevere. For example, children work together to mix paint into exactly the correct shade, noting that shades can be lighter or darker. Other children use magnifying glasses to look at a selection of leaves and woodland berries they collected on a walk. Staff encourage children to think about Autumn and decay over the colder months of the year. Children are immersed in learning opportunities.

Staff consistently promote positive behaviour throughout the setting. They have the highest regard to understanding children's emotions and helping them to understand the impact of their behaviour on others. Children listen carefully to staff and thoroughly enjoy being given responsibilities. For example, older children help younger children to put their water bottle into the fridge when they arrive. These opportunities help children to develop high levels of self-esteem and confidence.

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

• Staff have the highest of aspirations for all children. They have developed an ambitious curriculum with a strong intent of what they would like every child to learn. Children are eager learners and are excited to explore their environment. For example, younger children use dough to make facial features as they think about similarities and differences. As older children leave for school, some are able to write their name, while others identify letters to read simple words. Children make excellent progress.
• All aspects of the curriculum are interwoven throughout the day. Younger children enjoy using dough to make hearts and are supported to count aloud, pointing their finger as they use one-to-one correspondence. Older children collect sticks from the outdoor area and place them in height order, learning mathematical language such as 'tall', 'taller' and 'tallest'. Staff skilfully support communication and language. They model words in context and sensitively correct children as they use the new vocabulary. Children express their ideas and use language in the correct context.
• Literacy is a key strength of the setting, with learning clearly sequenced to help children practise and develop new skills. For example, children initially start to look for their name as they self-register and use visual timetables so they know what is happening now and next. Older children relish in enthusiastic story sessions, where they talk about the illustrator and which other books they may know by the same author. Children delight in joining in with repetitive text and using props to retell stories. Children are developing a deep love of storytelling.
• The curriculum is purposeful and adapts to support the unique needs of every child. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are superbly supported. Consistent tracking and evaluation means that staff are very quick to identify gaps in children's learning. Staff actively develop strategies, talk with parents and make timely referrals to other professionals. This focussed effort allows any gaps in learning to be reduced for every child.
• Children have a very wide range of opportunities to understand the world. For example, children visit a local water mill, watch how flour is made, buy eggs and milk from a local farm or shop, and return to the setting to use the ingredients for baking. Staff then send recipes home so parents can bake at home and extend children's learning even further. Children enjoy bird watching and identifying birds using pictures. These opportunities help children to take part in activities they may not have yet experienced.
• Partnerships with parents are well established. Parents access a wide range of information to extend children's learning at home. For example, they have access to an app that helps them to pronounce individual letters correctly, which supports the phonics scheme. Parents are very complimentary about the care their children receive. They share that 'staff are brilliant' and 'they are an asset to the local community'. These partnerships foster a consistency of care.
• Staff forge meaningful partnerships with other professionals. They accompany children as they transition to school. When children have left, staff contact schools and ask for feedback on how they can better prepare children for the following year. They attend various network meetings with other providers and receive support from the local authority. These partnerships prompt staff to reflect and evaluate on their provision, maximising impact for children.
• Leadership and management are excellent. There is an experienced staff team in place with a very low staff turnover. Staff access impactful professional development opportunities, receive mentoring and have key roles and responsibilities. Staff are a very reflective team who enjoy receiving feedback for the benefit of children. They all share the same vision for children in their care.