Chestnut@Arden House

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Leaders and staff provide a broad and ambitious curriculum to meet the changing needs of children who attend. They plan activities around children's interests and seasonal topics. This helps to nurture children's love of learning and enhance their understanding of the world. For instance, staff provide a planting activity for younger children that caters for their enjoyment of 'messy play' and introduces ideas about growth and change.

Staff are very caring and form strong emotional bonds with children. They are quick to notice and respond when children need a reassuring cuddle or support to join in. Staff provide a safe and welcoming space, where children are settled, happy and secure. Children show confidence and curiosity as they explore the environment and activities on offer. They relish the opportunities for outdoor play in the large garden.

Staff have high expectations for children's learning and behaviour. They support them to be confident and independent learners, who can follow routines and get on well with others. Older children demonstrate a broad range of skills and knowledge that will put them in good stead for starting school. They play nicely with their peers, manage their own personal care and are confident to ask for help when they need it.

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

• Leaders have a good oversight of the provision and identify priorities for continued improvement. For example, they are currently developing an area of the garden to enhance children's experiences of the natural environment. Staff work well together and feel valued and supported. They complete a wide range of training to continually build on their professional skills and knowledge.
• Staff monitor children's progress closely and are quick to identify where they need extra help. They provide targeted interventions, such as one-to-one support and focused activities, which help to close any gaps in children's learning. Leaders ensure that additional funding is used effectively to support children's individual learning needs. All children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), make good progress from their starting points.
• Children are immersed in a communication-rich environment. Staff read, sing and converse with children throughout the day to support their language skills. They are mindful that some children are developing their speech or are learning English as an additional language. Therefore, they also use visual aids, such as pictorial timetables and objects. These help children, including those with SEND, to understand routines and express their needs.
• Staff promote children's early literacy skills well. They ensure that there are opportunities for children of all ages to practise making marks. Staff introduce children to a range of core books. They revisit these regularly so that children become familiar with new vocabulary. Staff use fun and interesting ways to explore stories with children, such as taking them on a 'bear hunt' around the garden. This helps to instil children with a love of reading.
• Staff plan activities around the things that children enjoy and respond quickly to their emerging interests. This helps children to develop the positive attitudes they need to be successful learners. For example, staff support children's interest in creating an 'ice-cream van', providing large construction blocks and supporting cooperative play. Staff join in enthusiastically with the game and introduce discussions around mathematics and healthy eating to further enhance children's learning.
• Staff value children's individuality and help them to explore what makes them unique. They ask parents for family photos, which they display in the rooms or make into books. Babies look at these special books independently and are delighted when they recognise themselves and their friends. Staff provide conversations, stories and activities to help older children to appreciate their similarities and differences. Children speak positively about the varying colours of their hair, skin and eyes as they create self-portraits.
• Parents are keen to share their positive views of the setting. They say that their children enjoy attending and develop affectionate bonds with staff. Parents describe how staff pay close attention to meeting children's individual needs, including for children with SEND. Overall, parents are satisfied with their communication with staff. However, some are unsure about how staff implement the full curriculum and would like more help to continue their children's learning at home.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• further strengthen communication with parents to help them understand how the curriculum is delivered and how to continue children's learning at home.