Chatham Nursery School Birth to Five

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and safe in this diverse and inclusive nursery. They form strong bonds with the kind and nurturing staff team and benefit from sensitive interactions. They confidently seek out staff for comfort, when necessary. This demonstrates that children feel secure and their emotional well-being is promoted. Staff have high expectations and teach children about the importance of following instructions. Children respond positively to the 'tidy up' song and demonstrate that they know what this means. They learn to share, take turns and play cooperatively alongside their friends. Children's behaviour is very good.

The nursery has high numbers of children who speak English as an additional language and children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff focus the curriculum largely on supporting children to develop their communication and language skills. They narrate to children as they play, introducing new words to extend their vocabulary. Children take part in fun music and movement activities, which help them to identify and name key parts of their body. They are encouraged to listen carefully to instructions and copy the actions that staff model. Children develop some of the key skills they need for the next stage in their learning.

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

• Leaders have a good understanding of what they want children to learn. They plan a curriculum that is flexible to support children's unique learning needs. Overall, staff understand how to adapt activities to help children who need additional support. However, when implementing circle time, staff do not always have a clear intention and do not consistently sequence children's learning correctly. This means children quickly lose interest and become distracted.
• There are clear procedures in place for monitoring children's learning. Staff assess children's development each term to identify gaps in knowledge and plan appropriate next steps. They use targeted intervention to support children with SEND while they are awaiting support from outside professionals. All children, including those with SEND and those who speak English as an additional language, make progress from their starting points.
• Children enjoy playing in the garden. They show good balance and coordination as they use the scooters and bicycles to navigate the area. Children demonstrate persistence and resilience when learning to use the bat and ball. Staff support children to make marks on the walls with water and large paint brushes. They introduce key words, such as 'high', 'low', 'more' and 'full' while they play. This further promotes children's language development while they are having fun.
• Overall, partnership working with parents is effective. Staff gather information from parents when children first start to find out what they already know and can do. They provide parents with an overview of the curriculum and offer some ideas of activities to do at home. However, this information is not specific to children's individual next steps and does not help parents to extend learning further at home. This hinders the continuity in children's learning.
• The nursery is very diverse and caters for families from lots of different cultures. Staff support children to understand about how they may be similar and different to others, in ways that are appropriate to their young age. Children bring in things from home that are special to them, such as family photos and unique food recipes. This promotes opportunities for discussion and helps to prepare children for life in modern Britain.
• The leadership team is experienced and knowledgeable. Leaders are dedicated to providing quality care for children and families. There is a high priority on staff well-being, and everyone feels happy and supported in their roles. Staff have supervision meetings and receive professional development opportunities. However, supervisions are not focused sharply enough on improving staff's individual skills and knowledge. Staff do not consistently have the opportunity to discuss information regarding children's development or receive their individual performance feedback. Consequently, there are some minor inconsistencies in the quality of education.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• refine the learning intentions for circle times to help children learn new skills in the correct order
• strengthen the two-way flow of information with parents and keep them updated about how to support children's individual next steps at home
• focus supervision more sharply on improving staff's individual knowledge and skills further.