Buttercups at Teddington

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Teaching is highly effective, with an excellent focus on learning both indoors and outdoors. Children thoroughly immerse themselves in the exciting activities available, and staff capture children's natural curiosity to learn and explore. Leaders work exceptionally well together. They draw on their experience to provide all children with the highest possible levels of care and education. Children are offered a broad, stimulating curriculum that builds on what they already know and can do. Staff use their knowledge of the children and their interests to provide activities that grab their attention and extend concentration. Staff provide activities with clear next steps tailored to children's individual needs. Staff continuously monitor children's progress to make precise and accurate assessments of children's learning. Staff are extremely attentive and responsive to children's individual learning needs. All children make rapid progress from their respective starting points. Activities both indoors and outside are highly stimulating. Children enjoy filling watering cans and sharing how they are 'caring for the lettuce' they planted as it needs 'sunshine and water to grow'. Children are confident and highly independent. Staff deployment is extremely effective. They provide the right amount of support to encourage children to follow their own play ideas. Staff are extremely supportive of children who require additional help or children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Children behave extremely well. They know what is expected as staff help them understand behaviour expectations. As a result, preschool children share and take turns without staff prompting, and nursery children use timers as tools to reinforce rules for turn taking and sharing. Younger children are praised by staff who clearly share what they are being praised for.

Staff take children on various outings. They go to the local greengrocer to purchase fresh fruit. Children learn about different festivals and other cultures. This helps children learn about people and communities that may be different to their own.

Communication with parents is a real strength. Leaders and staff work closely with parents to support children to achieve their full potential and maximise their learning. For instance, staff provide parents with daily newsletters of activities and share ideas for activities and resources to support learning at home. Children are extremely well prepared for the next stage in their learning. Leaders demonstrate a strong drive to continually reflect on their practice to deliver the best possible outcomes for both children. Assessment of practice is continuous. Room leaders review all aspects of their provision and support leaders to implement focused development plans to maintain consistently high-quality practice across all areas in the nursery.

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

• The key worker process is embedded into practice in the setting. Staff know children extremely well. Children transition into the setting at their own pace. Parents are given daily feedback and the move into the setting can be extended or reduced based on the individual needs of each child. Children are confident as they form strong, trusting bonds with staff.
• Staff continuously observe children. They adapt the care and education they provide for each child. Staff work together to ensure strategies to support children are embedded across the curriculum. Children requiring additional help or with emerging SEND are extremely well supported. Staff devise and implement strategies to support as soon as a need is identified. All children make good or better progress.
• Next steps for children are widely shared in the staff team based in each area. Staff confidently share how they differentiate planned activities to include precise, tailored next steps and learning intentions for children at different stages of development. Staff have high expectations for all children and introduce strategies to use physical movement to keep and extend children's concentration.
• Children across the nursery develop independence. Babies begin to feed themselves. Toddlers begin to follow hygiene routines and start demonstrating their independence by putting on their own coats and shoes. Pre-school children are excellent at self-care skills and use the bathroom completely independently.
• Children are developing very good communication and language skills, supported by the effective practice of the staff team. Children are given time to answer questions asked of them to build on their increasing vocabulary. Younger children delight in story time with staff when they point and look at pictures in their favourite books. Babies enjoy time together and become excited as they sing songs and complete actions modelled by staff.
• Children are learning how to keep themselves safe. Babies are asked if they would like a cuddle. Toddlers begin to identify and meet their own care needs by learning how to wipe their noses and wash their hands. Older children begin to name and identify emotions and share how they feel. Pre-school children are taught road safety and share how they 'stop, look, and listen' when walking into the annexe.
• Room leads manage their areas extremely well. They observe children and staff to continually assess the quality of interactions and keep an overview of children's and staff development. Staff are supported to continually reflect on and evaluate activities to develop practice and ensure interactions with children are of consistently high quality.
• Staff are confident in their knowledge and know leaders are supportive of their progress. A philosophy of 'no mistakes, only opportunities for learning' is consistent across all areas in the nursery. As a result, all children show enthusiasm for learning, which is skilfully supported with clear learning intentions and teaching from keen and skilled staff.
• Leaders and managers monitor the effectiveness of teaching and learning exceptionally well. For example, they evaluate staff's interactions with children to assess the effectiveness of their practice. They implement extremely successful procedures to precisely track and analyse the progress of all children. This ensures that any gaps in children's learning are swiftly identified, and timely interventions are put into place.
• Parents are full of praise for this setting. Daily emails with information about weekly activity plans with ideas and tips for parents to support learning at home are welcomed by parents as they are fully involved and knowledgeable about their child's learning.
• Leaders, staff and parents work together effectively to ensure children's safety. For example, pre-school children recently moved into an annexe at the back of the existing building. Risk assessments were completed, and strategies were directly taught by staff and supported by parents. Children confidently use the 'stop, look, and listen' approach as their knowledge of road safety has developed.