Chestnut Cherubs

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and feel secure in this positive nursery. Children of all ages arrive with a smile as they skip inside to receive cuddles from staff and a welcoming cheer from their friends. Staff recognise how children feel and respond sensitively when they need extra reassurance. Children's emotional development is supported well.

Children are physically active in their play. They confidently throw, catch and bounce balls. Children develop their coordination as they carefully walk along the balancing equipment. They have many opportunities to strengthen the small muscles in their hands by squeezing and rolling dough, making marks in the paint and sculpting sand with their fingers. Children's physical skills are developing well.

Children independently access the resources they need in their play. They interact happily with each other, confidently talking and problem-solving together. For example, when children cannot find the right colour chalk, they share ideas about which colour might work instead. Staff support children to be able to manage their own personal needs. Younger children are taught how to use the toilet and older children wash their hands before eating without being prompted. Children are developing skills that will support them to be ready for the next stage in their education.

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

• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) thrive in this supportive and inclusive nursery. Staff identify any concerns about children's progress early. They engage effectively with parents and other professionals to enable targeted support to be put in place for children. Staff act on advice from the local authority and implement effective strategies to support children's development. Children with SEND make significant progress.
• Leaders value the impact that professional development can have on improving the quality of staff's practice over time. They ensure that staff attend training to keep their knowledge up to date and meet with staff regularly to support them in developing their skills. Staff well being is promoted and morale is high.
• An embedded key-person system is in place. Children form strong bonds with their key person, which helps them to settle when they first join the nursery. Staff know children well and use assessment effectively to plan for children's next steps in learning. This supports all children to make good progress.
• Staff celebrate the uniqueness of every child. For example, during the recent Jubilee celebrations, children learned about different monarchies from the countries that their families are from. This supports children to develop an understanding of the world and an appreciation of diversity.
• Children enjoy listening to stories. They gather round and snuggle in as staff enthusiastically read books. Children confidently join in with repeated phrases in the stories and demonstrate their understanding of what is being read. They predict that the character feels angry because they notice he has a red face. Babies help staff to turn the pages as they carefully handle books and point to the pictures. Children of all ages are developing a love of reading.
• Children demonstrate that they are confident in their understanding of early mathematical concepts. They frequently use mathematical language in their play. For example, children gather up the balls and correctly identify that they have five. They talk about how old they are and know how old they will be on their next birthday. Staff encourage children to count and to join in with number rhymes. This supports children to develop the mathematical skills they will need when they start school.
• All parents are incredibly complimentary about every aspect of the nursery and staff. They say that the staff are 'brilliant' and 'go above and beyond'. Parents feel that the level of care that their children receive is 'on another level'. They appreciate the detailed daily communication they receive and say that they feel staff value their views. Parents share that the nursery's broad curriculum has sparked their children's interests in the world beyond their immediate environment and that they feel their children are making good progress. Parents describe the nursery as 'a loving and nurturing extended family'.
• Staff link activities to children's interests and interact positively with them in their play. However, at times, activities and questions are not open-ended enough to consistently engage children and allow them to extend their thinking.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• increase the use of open-ended activities and questioning, so that children have more opportunities to extend their thinking to the highest level.