Chestnut Nursery Norfolk Ltd. St. Giles

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thrive in this inclusive and extremely welcoming nursery. Children immediately feel safe and settle seamlessly. This is because a highly effective key-person system ensures the warm and nurturing staff get to know children and their families before they start. The management team and staff work closely to create calming and inviting environments that continuously meet the needs of all children. Staff introduce real-life resources which encourage purposeful play and support children's understanding of the world they live in. Children begin to connect with nature and learn where food comes from as they use the fresh ingredients they have grown from seed.

Children are motivated learners, leading their own learning. Staff encourage this by providing high-quality resources that are self-accessible and age-appropriate. Babies develop their physical strength in fun ways. They enjoy pulling themselves up to standing on soft-play equipment. Toddlers giggle with delight as they leap into the ball pool. They build their self-esteem and confidence in their abilities as attentive staff clap, praising their bravery and achievements. Staff are excellent role models, always talking respectfully and listening to children's views. Therefore, children are learning to listen and accept the needs of others, and often introduce sand timers to independently support turn taking with their peers.

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

• Overall, teaching across the nursery is very good. Staff create stimulating activities based around children's interests which sparks their curiosity and high levels of engagement. Staff use their knowledge of children's development to provide skilful interactions which enhance and extend children's learning. For example, as children decorate pumpkins, staff ask how they made the colour purple. Children revisit the colour mixing process and explain that mixing blue and red makes purple. These thought-provoking questions consolidate their learning and build on what children already know and can do.
• The management team is organised and very reflective. It takes account of the views of parents, children and staff when evaluating the provision. This helps identify staff's training needs and their good role modelling helps improve the quality of teaching. Staff report excellent well-being and appreciate the active role leaders play in the day-to-day running of the nursery.
• Staff ensure children's physical and emotional well-being is at the heart of all learning experiences. Children learn to express themselves and become in tune with their bodies through daily yoga sessions. They develop mindfulness, and learn to self-regulate their emotions through calming strategies, such as deep breathing and gentle exercise. Consequently, children are developing patience and empathy, and frequently display kind and positive behaviours towards adults and their peers.
• All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make progress and continuously have their needs met. Any gaps in children's learning are identified quickly and swift, appropriate support is put into place.
• All children make good progress in their speech and language development. Careful consideration and use of books, further extends children's vocabulary and speech and language development. However, occasionally, staff do not provide enough time for children to respond to questions or use open-ended questions enough, to give children rich opportunities to practise and extend their speech and language skills.
• Babies and children become increasingly independent in their self-care needs, with lots of praise and encouragement. Every room is organised to promote independence and a sense of belonging. For example, children hang up their belongings on their pegs and put their drawings into their named trays. This supports independence which helps children to be ready for school when the time comes.
• Mealtimes are sociable events, and children self-serve their food at mealtimes. Children practise using tongs and spoons and learn the meaning of words, such as 'scoop' and 'squeeze', introduced by encouraging staff. Children develop well-established hygiene routines and independently wash hands before eating.
• Parent partnerships are of paramount importance. Parents compliment the ongoing and excellent communication they receive from staff, including regular assessments about their progress. They report how this helps them to further support their children's learning and development at home. They applaud the significant progress their children are making in all areas of development.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance teaching strategies to further extend children's speech and language skills to an even higher level.