Buxton Nursery Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thrive in this nursery. At the start of a child's journey at the nursery, staff develop strong relationships with the children's parents and carers. The information that parents share about their child is used to make the child's introduction to nursery a positive and supportive experience. Staff very quickly get to know the children. Any concerns staff identify about a child's development are sensitively, but promptly raised with parents. Staff are keen to access any early help that the child might benefit from to slow down or prevent gaps in their learning and development from adversely affecting their progress.

Staff help children to understand what is expected of them and build upon children's existing knowledge and understanding. Children learn the nursery routines and follow the staff's prompts and instructions well. The youngest children understand that they wash their hands before they have a snack. The older children tidy up the room at an amazing speed and are quickly ready to sit and listen to one of their favourite stories.

Children are introduced to a wide range of experiences throughout the nursery to provoke their curiosity and support them to concentrate and persist until they are satisfied with what they want to achieve. For example, when they explore the ice and snow outside, staff talk to older children and describe the thawing process to them. The youngest children are gently introduced to the sensations of touching the ice.

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

• Leaders have designed a curriculum that demonstrates they have a secure understanding of how young children learn. They focus on children's communication and language, physical development and their social skills. Staff build upon what they know children can do using achievable steps to help children to make progress. For example, they understand that for a child to hold a pencil properly for writing they need to experience and practise different hand movements to achieve the final target.
• Staff have a good understanding of the curriculum and what they want the children they care for to learn next. They have developed routines in each nursery room that suit the children and help to prepare them for the next stage in their education. For example, younger children have song time altogether in preparation for group story time. Older children take part in focused, small-group work in readiness for school. Sometimes these group times are not delivered in a way that supports children to learn from them or consolidate previous learning.
• Staff are alert to children's individual interests and needs. They plan the nursery day to ensure that all children can explore and play freely. Staff provide resources and experiences that they know will capture children's interest and create learning opportunities. Babies, with a love of dens and of a story about a bear, delight in entering a dark den created by staff. Babies explore the items in the den and learn how to use torches. Outdoor play is less well thought through in terms of the resources selected for children to use. Staff are, at times, unclear what they expect children to learn using the items that are available.
• Children's communication and language development is given a high priority in the nursery. Staff speak to children using well-structured sentences. They do not underestimate children's ability to understand. They explain new words to children using practical experiences, and children use what they have learned in their play. After playing outdoors in the snow and ice, older children played with ice blocks indoors. They remembered that words they had learned, such as 'melting' and 'thawing', and used these in context in their play.
• Children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are very well supported by the staff. Staff understand how children communicate and can interpret children's needs from their actions and responses. They respond with understanding and sensitivity to children when they are upset and know just what to do to help and support them. Staff work closely with parents and other professionals to make sure that children have a consistent approach to their needs from the adults who care for them.
• Leaders are well organised and keen to make sure that all children can access the curriculum. They make sure that all children, in particular those in receipt of additional funding, attend regularly so that they receive the care and education they are entitled to.
• Leaders regularly monitor staff's practice. They recognise where there are weaknesses and provide a wide range of support and development opportunities that help staff to improve their practice.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• provide staff with more support to make sure that small-group learning sessions meet the learning objectives and extend children's learning
• increase staff's understanding of how to provide resources that support purposeful outdoor play.