Castle Nursery at Perryfields

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children receive a friendly welcome from staff as they arrive at this warm and nurturing nursery. Parents bring children into their playroom and help them settle in, which supports children to feel safe. Staff communicate with parents as children arrive to share information, which helps to provide continuity in children's care and routines.

Children throughout the nursery are eager to get involved in activities of their choosing. Babies sit down with staff to join in singing their favourite rhymes and songs. Two-year-old children ask to paint. They independently squeeze their paint into a palette and use different brushes and their hands to make marks on paper. Older children immerse themselves in making their own dough to play with. They know what ingredients they need, that water makes the dough wet and that they can add more flour to make it less sticky.

Staff demonstrate high expectations for all children, which supports children to become ready for the next stage in their learning. They work in partnership with parents to support children who are toilet training. Pre-school children practise dressing and undressing themselves for physical activities in readiness for school. At mealtimes, they independently wash their hands, collect their own lunch boxes and learn how to open their own food packaging.

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

• Managers and staff are committed to valuing every child and what makes them unique. They spend time observing children so they know what they can do. Managers have established some foundations for a curriculum to support children's learning. However, managers and staff do not yet focus precisely enough on what they intend to teach children to extend their learning further.
• Staff provide excellent support for children's communication and language development. Babies enjoy sharing books with staff, which exposes them to new words. Staff working with two-year-old children focus activities on a particular word. They encourage children to practise saying the new word and use objects to support children in understanding concepts. Children also learn how to sign words so that they can communicate in other ways. This supports children to become confident and fluent communicators.
• Children develop an understanding of how to keep themselves and others safe. Staff explain to children that scissors are sharp or when water is hot, and children show they know not to touch it. Older children build towers and know to check their surroundings to make sure their friends are behind them before they use a hammer to knock their tower down.
• Children generally behave well in the nursery. They follow instructions from staff when joining in with group activities and take pride in wearing the stickers they receive for their achievements. However, on some occasions, children can lose focus in their learning. For example, when they have finished an activity, it can take a long time for them to move on to something else because staff have not yet set up the next experience for them.
• Parents express gratitude towards the nursery. They appreciate the detailed information they receive from staff each day about their children's care. Parents access their child's learning records and recognise the progress their child has made in the nursery.
• All children have daily opportunities to access the outdoor environment, where they continue their learning. Children enjoy using chalks to make marks or explore how to sieve sand through different tools.
• The setting has a designated coordinator to support children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. They work closely with staff to identify any gaps in children's learning at the earliest opportunity. The coordinator liaises with other professionals in a timely way to support parents and children to obtain the necessary support they need.
• Staff consistently comment on the high levels of support they receive from managers. They feel valued and appreciated and are grateful for the allocated time they have to complete additional training. Managers provide staff with frequent supervision. This gives staff opportunities to discuss their performance and any concerns they may have in order to address these in a timely way.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• build on the existing curriculum to help staff focus more precisely on what they intend to teach children to extend their learning even further
• review the organisation of routines and planning for the environment to keep all children continuously engaged and highly motivated in their learning.