Charters Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are welcomed into this caring environment by managers and all staff. The management team have high expectations of the key-person approach, where staff create strong bonds to support children to feel safe and secure at nursery. Staff build relationships with children and get to know them well to ensure they feel settled and their emotional development needs are met.

Children's physical development is well supported throughout the nursery, both indoors and outdoors. Babies climb low-level equipment to practise manoeuvring and build their muscles. For example, they explore 'up and over' furniture to steadily climb up one end and slide down the other. Staff support the youngest children to celebrate their success, to build their self-esteem. Children are encouraged to persevere, with positive interactions from staff to support their achievements.

Children show a deep love of reading. They engage in interactive books with a range of resources and puppets associated with stories that staff read. Children enjoy the animation of reading and demonstrate noises that the illustrated animals make. As children transition through the nursery, staff support them to make good progress in their development, as they understand their nursery curriculum well. Staff know what children need to learn next and how this can be skilfully supported. They nurture children's feelings and model associated vocabulary, supporting children to develop their emotions.

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

• Managers are passionate about the curriculum they design for children. Their strong ethos ensures that children benefit from adult interactions as much as possible, to develop their learning. Learning continues outdoors as children move from one area to another to make more choices. This supports children to make progress across all areas of development.
• Children are offered some support in developing their independence. For example, children locate their own baskets to change their shoes and have a go at changing their own clothes. However, staff do not always support younger children, for example, to self-serve their drinks. At times, staff offer too much support, limiting children's ability to do this for themselves.
• The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) targets intervention for children who may need additional support. This is key for early intervention. The SENCo works with other professionals to ensure that children make good progress in their development. Progress checks for children aged two years are conducted to enable staff to make timely referrals. Additional funding is used thoughtfully, for example, to support children with specific resources.
• Staff assess what children can do and plan what they will learn next from this information. They mindfully step in when children may need extra support. However, at times, during transitions in the routine, large group times can result in children losing focus and waiting for periods of time before moving on.
• Staff share information with parents regularly to discuss the progress children make. They invite parents to attend meetings so children are supported with transitions they make through the nursery. Staff prepare children to become familiar with this process by creating settling sessions for children.
• The management team supports staff in base rooms and in developing their practice. Managers take time to ensure that they know all children and how to support staff to implement activities. For example, children demonstrate an understanding of how to take care of china teapots and learn to incorporate these objects in their play.
• Parents speak highly of the nursery and feel that staff's communication is excellent. They positively discuss the progress of their children and appreciate the care given by all staff. They make recommendations for other families to join, with many parents choosing to use the nursery for further siblings.
• Changes made as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic have supported the setting to implement long-lasting systems to ensure that children receive the best possible outcomes. For example, older children are supported to take responsibility for their belongings.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to provide more opportunities for children to do things for themselves and become independent in their self-care abilities
• consider the management of group times and staff deployment during transitions to maintain children's focus and minimise waiting times.