Chestnut @ St Nicholas House

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children look forward to their days at the nursery. They benefit from the home-from-home environment. Due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, children now say goodbye to their parents at the nursery door. Children are managing this change very well. They settle quickly and happily. Babies follow their individual routines for feeding and sleeping. They show that they feel safe in the nursery as they seek out staff for cuddles and reassurance when needed. Babies show awe and wonder as they play. They are keen to challenge themselves as they toddle around the low-level furniture, scrambling up small steps and laughing as they push themselves down the slide.

Toddlers love using their senses to investigate. They use paintbrushes and their hands to mix paint and create colourful pictures. Toddlers look carefully at their reflections in low-level mirrors. They point out photographs of different facial expressions. Toddlers enjoy choosing stories for staff to read to them, looking at the pictures and repeating new words. Pre-school children are gaining the skills needed for school. They join in with their friends to bath baby dolls, create shape pictures and pretend to be doctors. Children behave very well. They consider the feelings of others and talk about their emotions.

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

• Leaders and managers of the nursery have worked together to establish a fun and interesting learning programme for children of all ages. Staff understand that children have spent more time at home during the COVID-19 pandemic and bring these experiences into children's pretend play. They provide cosy 'home corners' for children to pretend to cook and clean. Older children pretend to be 'real-life superheroes'. They act out roles, such as paramedics.
• Children learn to make independent choices and take sensible risks. Staff understand how to support younger children through potty training when they are ready. A high priority is placed on well-being. Children are encouraged to express and talk about feelings. The nursery celebrates diversity. Children learn about the wider world and differences between people.
• Staff who work with babies are experienced and knowledgeable about their roles. They are skilled at helping babies learn through inspiring activities. Babies enthusiastically explore bubbles and join in with rhymes about sea creatures. They expand their vocabularies as staff teach them new words and help them make links between experiences.
• The manager of the setting, who started her role during the peak of the COVID- 19 pandemic, understands how to lead staff positively through difficult times and change. She shows great passion for her role and talks about her vision for the nursery. Staff are able to access support for their own well-being. They say they enjoy their roles and work well with colleagues. Leaders and managers have ambitious plans to develop the nursery garden, to enrich outdoor learning for children of all ages.
• The COVID-19 pandemic affected the number of children attending the nursery. Over the past months, more children have returned to and started at the nursery. This means that the nursery has recruited new staff and some staff are working with a different age group of children than they usually do. As a result, some staff who are new to their roles are less confident at adapting play activities to suit the learning needs of individual children.
• Staff and managers are quick to recognise when a child may need extra support. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive high levels of attention from staff. Staff work hard to support children who speak English as an additional language. They learn words from children's home languages and include traditional meals from their home country on the nursery menu. Children, including those who the setting receives additional funding for, are gaining important skills for their future learning.
• Staff understand the importance of working in partnership with children's parents. Most parents are happy with the communication they receive from staff about their child's development. However, some parents say they would like to know more about their child's learning and have more detailed information about mealtimes.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support less experienced staff to understand how to adapt play activities and tailor them more precisely to individual children's needs
• strengthen parent partnerships by helping all parents to access information and feel fully involved in their child's learning.