Cheeky Cherubs Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children feel safe and secure in this exceptionally nurturing environment, where dedicated staff value every child's uniqueness. Children have strong attachments to their key staff, who respond quickly and sensitively when children need support. Staff are excellent, respectful role models with high expectations. As a result, children's behaviour is exemplary, and they are kind and helpful to each other.

Children move about freely between the indoor and outdoor areas and engage with well-planned activities that stimulate their curiosities. Older children cooperate excitedly as they share ideas about how to prevent their dinosaurs from 'falling into the green swamp and getting stuck'. Young children mix bowls of porridge and retell a well-known story using props. They learn early literacy skills, such as using descriptive words and how to sequence a story. Young children eagerly squeeze sponges in soapy water. As a result, they develop strength and coordination in their fingers and hands. Older children challenge themselves and persevere as they pull themselves up slopes using ropes. This helps to develop their core muscles, and they are proud of what they achieve.

The curriculum is highly ambitious and takes account of the impact of the COVID- 19 pandemic, particularly on children's social and communication development. The curriculum is thoroughly understood by every member of staff. As a result, staff implement the curriculum sensitively and effectively. This has a positive impact on children's progress, helps to close any gaps and prepares children well for the next stage of their learning journey.

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

• Staff support children's learning and well-being exceedingly well and are aware of the children's strengths and interests. They support children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities extremely effectively, working with other professionals to put in place specific strategies to help children make good progress. They make suitable adaptations to the environment, for example painting posts a different colour to help children with visual difficulties move about in safety when outside.
• Staff know how to sequence learning effectively and build on what children already know. For example, they introduce dice so that children learn to recognise numbers by patterns. Children match this to numerals and count objects accurately. Staff use words such as 'total' to extend the activity and encourage children to line up their collections to count beyond 10 more easily. Staff working with babies recognise when they show an interest in naming animals. They use pictures, objects and signing to introduce and practise new words, for example when singing a nursery rhyme. They praise babies when they repeat the word.
• Children show an increasing confidence in their independence skills. For example, young babies find their own cups when they need a drink. Older babies are competent at using cutlery at lunchtime. Older children happily take responsibility to lay the table, dish up their own lunch and tidy away afterwards.
• Managers and staff provide a rich variety of outings that greatly enhance children's experiences and understanding of the wider and diverse world. For example, they have weekly visits to a forest area and swimming lessons. They make regular trips to the local supermarket with their 'shopping lists'. They go to the beach to explore rock pools. They have links with the local care home and enjoy sharing cooking activities with the residents. Recently, an ambulance crew visited, and the children learned about how they help people in the community.
• Parents are involved in every aspect of their children's learning and development and speak highly of the passion and commitment of managers and staff. They particularly value the friendly and informative home visits by key persons and the flexibility and support of the nursery. Parents are kept informed of their children's progress daily, verbally and through an online platform.
• Leaders and managers are highly organised and lead an enthusiastic and creative staff team. Leaders collaborate closely with staff, who take active roles in shaping effective environments where children can thrive. Managers recognise the strengths of staff and tailor training appropriately, for example in forest school leadership. As a result, staff are highly motivated with their own professional development and willingly cascade new learning to others.