Chestnut@Woodgrange

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy to come into the nursery and separate from parents confidently when greeted by staff. Staff have high expectations of children's behaviour and have clear routines in place for them. Children demonstrate positive behaviour consistently across all areas of the nursery and appear content. Children are confident speakers and ask for help from staff and peers. Staff are extremely attentive to children's preferences. They apply this knowledge to provide resources and activities that promote children's interest. This helps most children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) to maintain focus and attention for extended periods of time.

Children enjoy learning about plants and discuss with confidence their prior learning experiences. For example, they reflect on their planting activity and share their knowledge of plants needing water and sunlight to grow. Staff teach children strategies to take turns and share well. For example, they help children to use sand timers when sharing toys. This helps children learn to negotiate well with others and wait for their turn patiently.

Children enjoy exploring new vocabulary and use them in their play. They compare the different sizes of the dinosaurs using comparative language. Staff introduce children to ambitious vocabulary, such as triceratops and stegosaurus. Children also use their sense of touch and use words such as prickly to describe the different textures of dinosaurs.

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

• Staff offer a range of opportunities for children to engage in physically active play, both inside and outdoors. Children enjoy completing obstacle courses and develop good balance. They also use tools with control to cut fruit and vegetables. They develop their physical skills well.
• Communication and language development is central to the nursery's ethos. Staff plan good opportunities to develop children's language by focusing on the 'story of the month'. This encourages children to learn new vocabulary and use them in their play. For example, outside, children complete obstacle courses and use positional language they have been learning from the book.
• Children with SEND are supported well. Staff liaise with external professionals and keep parents informed frequently about their children's progress. They share and implement strategies to maintain a consistent approach to meeting all children's individual needs.
• The quality of education is good. Leaders and staff plan a curriculum that is child focused and supports all children's good development. Staff know their key children well. Overall, they successfully plan for children's learning and help them to make good progress. However, at times, staff do not plan their interactions with groups of children from different ages effectively. For example, during children's play, they do not always support younger children's full participation to enhance their learning experiences further.
• Staff implement some routines to teach children about managing their own personal needs. For example, they remind children to wash their hands before mealtimes. However, some staff are not consistent with supporting children to develop self-care skills, such as wiping their own nose when needed.
• Parents speak highly about the communication staff maintain with them regarding their child's learning and development. They are complimentary of the thorough induction process in place that helps their children to settle into nursery well. Parents benefit from staff sharing different learning strategies, that they can use at home to support their children's home learning.
• Staff feel well supported by the manager, who implements effective supervision and training opportunities to support their professional development. She addresses any concerns staff may have individually and provides mentoring and coaching to help develop their practice.
• Staff provide good opportunities for children to learn about diversity. They celebrate individual children's beliefs and festivals to help them learn about each other's similarities and differences and value others. Parents compliment the nursery's inclusive approach in teaching children about different cultures and faiths.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen staff's interactions during group activities, particularly for younger children, to fully involve all children in the learning experiences being offered
• extend the opportunities given to children to manage their own personal needs, to further support their self-care skills.