Charlotte's Web Pre-School Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are content and settle well. They arrive happy and are keen to start their day. Children enjoy their time at the nursery and are making good progress in their development. Over time, they build the skills that they need for writing. Older children play with dough, and younger children compare the texture of fake snow and sand as they strengthen the muscles in their hands.

Staff have high expectations and children behave well. Younger children learn to share and take turns. Older children play together harmoniously and help the younger children to manage tasks. Staff give children gentle reminders, and are good role models, to support their positive behaviour.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the owner, who is also the manager, identified that not all children have access to a garden at home. She ensures that children enjoy spending long periods in the well-resourced outdoor area, where they have opportunities to be creative and take charge. For example, older children send balls down drainpipes that they have joined together. They experiment with the drainpipes to make the balls travel further. Younger children ride around on scooters safely, with increasing skill and coordination.

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

• Staff have a good understanding of how children learn and develop. They know their key children well. The owner closely monitors children's development and plans a curriculum to meet the diverse needs of children and to prepare them in readiness for the next stage in their learning. However, on occasion, staff are unsure of how to put the curriculum plans fully into action. As a result, they do not consistently have a clear focus to further build on what children know and can do.
• Staff work effectively together to support children who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They quickly identify any child who may need additional support to reach their full potential. Staff are persistent and determined in engaging with specialist professionals and supporting parents. This means that children are assessed promptly and, where necessary, quickly benefit from the targeted support they need.
• Parents praise the hard work of the staff, saying that their children love attending and progress well. They express that they feel the nursery is like a second home for their children. Staff provide parents with regular information about their children's learning to support continued learning at home. They share ideas for simple play activities that can be done at home to enhance children's development, such as eating crunchy foods to build facial muscles in order to promote communication, specifically speech.
• Staff's interactions with children are positive and are used to motivate children to join in and have a go. They children give lots of praise and encouragement to support their confidence and self-esteem. For instance, children beam with great pride with the praise they receive when they build a ten tier birthday cake out of dough.
• Recent improvements to the nursery environment, inside and out, have had a positive impact on children's learning and enjoyment. Staff organise resources purposefully to extend children's curiosity and inspire them to explore and experiment. They use space well to create a mix of cosy areas for children to sit and read or relax, as well as exciting areas for them to engage in activities that reflect difference and diversity.
• The owner is committed to providing children with a variety of experiences. Children take part in a weekly sports class run by a sports coach. This helps to support their physical development as well as teaching them to follow instructions and about team work.
• Staff work well as a team. They have regular meetings to evaluate the effectiveness of their provision. Staff reflect on their practice and the learning experiences they provide for children. The owner makes good use of supervision meetings and peer observations to develop staff's knowledge and experience, in order to help improve the outcomes for children. She supports staff's well-being effectively.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop staff's knowledge of the curriculum intentions, so that all activities for children have a clear focus.