Buds that Blossom Chinnor

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are well supported at the nursery and quickly settle to play on arrival. They have positive and caring relationships with staff, and staff are attentive to their needs. Staff plan and provide a variety of activities to support children's interests and help them to develop. Staff regularly assess children's progress and identify their next steps in learning effectively. They cater for children's individual learning needs well and ensure that all areas of development are provided for. Consequently, children are making good progress in their learning from their starting points.

Staff support children's feelings and behaviour well. They help children to understand and recognise their actions and emotions consistently by using books, adapting the 'colour monster' ethos and through discussions. Overall, staff provide consistent and effective interactions to children. They sing and read stories and engage children in purposeful conversations about what they are doing. For example, when older children explore with herbs, fruits and water, staff expand their vocabulary as they ask children to describe what they are doing, can smell and see. This encourages the children to think critically and use their words as they explore and develop their sensory processing skills.

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

• Staff plan and provide an inclusive environment for the children. Staff offer children a variety of play resources and activities that captivate their interest and support their learning. Staff have a good awareness of the learning intentions of activities that they plan and provide. Staff embed the key-person approach appropriately, and this helps them to support and promote progress securely.
• Leaders provide training opportunities for staff to enhance and develop their knowledge and skills. Additionally, staff comment that they feel well supported and appropriately managed. However, the ongoing coaching and mentoring for staff, particularly those who are less confident, are not targeted enough to further strengthen their practice and help raise teaching to the highest level.
• Children are confident to explore inside and outside of the nursery. Staff provide interesting activities, which encourage children to investigate. This was seen at the inspection when babies and toddlers enjoyed exploring sand and natural resources, and older children had fun making potions with water and flower petals. Staff are good at weaving mathematical concepts into play to help children to hear and learn about colours, shapes and numbers.
• Staff help children to build on their independence effectively. For instance, younger children are supported to feed themselves and help to tidy away, and older children are encouraged to pour their drinks and chop fruits for snack. Appropriate hygiene routines are suitably followed to ensure that children's health and welfare are maintained.
• Staff help children to understand behaviour expectations well from a young age as they encourage turn taking and sharing. Staff successfully support children's relationships with each other. For example, they help children to climb and balance on foam shapes. Children have formed good relationships with each other. They laugh and play happily together as they hold hands to cross the balancing beam and play games, such as catch.
• Parents are very complimentary about the staff and their children's experiences. They comment that the staff are 'wonderful', provide 'excellent care' and offer 'amazing communication'. Staff provide effective information and support to parents through an online app, parent meetings, verbal exchanges and information boards. This helps the parents to fully comprehend how their children have been during the day, how they are learning, and ways that activities can support development.
• Leaders and staff understand the importance of working in partnerships with other professionals who are involved in children's care and education, to provide a consistent approach to meeting children's needs. The special educational needs coordinator understands their role securely and works closely with staff, parents and professionals to ensure that children who need extra help have their needs successfully met.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen the ongoing coaching and mentoring of staff practice to help raise teaching to a consistently high level.