Christchurch Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff warmly welcome children and families to the nursery. They provide a safe and nurturing environment where children feel comfortable to explore freely. Staff support children to make their own choices, encourage them to try things for themselves and give lots of praise. Staff have a calm and caring nature. They often sing to children, read them stories and immerse themselves in the children's imaginative games.

Staff are clear with their expectations for behaviour and consistently support all children to understand the rules. For example, staff use visual signs and pictures that are positioned throughout the nursery. Staff are good at modelling simple sign language to give all children a voice so they can be understood and heard. As a result, children treat their friends with kindness and respect and form close bonds with both adults and peers.

Every child makes good progress from their starting point. Staff regularly assess children's development and plan in detail for what they need to learn next. They create carefully designed plans for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) to ensure they make progress at their own pace. Staff plan engaging and fun activities that children really focus and concentrate on. They are good at knowing when to step in and extend play for children, but also allow them time to explore and investigate for themselves. Children become confident, independent and curious learners, ready for the next step in their journey.

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

• Staff follow a thoughtfully planned curriculum to support children to grow and develop in all areas. Leaders are passionate about ensuring every child has equal opportunities to learn, to be included and to feel happy. Staff are patient and caring and celebrate all achievements children make. This supports all children, including children with SEND, to feel proud and to build gradually on their existing skills and knowledge.
• Staff support children's communication and language skills well. They speak clearly and slowly, emphasising new vocabulary for children to learn. For example, younger children learn the words 'pinch', 'roll' and 'squeeze' as they enjoy play dough. Older children learn the words 'eucalyptus' and 'bamboo' as they learn about animals from around the world. Staff sensitively repeat the correct pronunciation of words and encourage children to repeat them back.
• Children particularly enjoy learning outside and can freely move between the indoor and outdoor environments. Staff provide many activities outside to create an outdoor classroom environment. For example, children enjoy listening to stories in the outdoor library and learning about healthy foods while making pretend food. However, when supporting children to develop their physical skills outdoors, staff are less confident in how to provide consistent challenge. At these times, while children enjoy the apparatus provided, they do not consistently benefit from meaningful interactions to build on their skills and further their development.
• Staff listen to children's ideas and incorporate their interests into their planning. For example, children thoroughly enjoy role-play games with toy sea animals and learn how to take turns by playing a board game together. This helps children to develop positive attitudes to learning. However, some parts of the day are not always well organised, such as when children arrive and leave. At these times, staff do not manage the noise levels and the environment effectively. For instance, activities are interrupted as parents and children enter the nursery. This has an impact on children's focus and they can become distracted or have to wait for long periods.
• Staff promote children's independence well. For example, they encourage children to put their own coats on, to select their own resources and to use the toilet independently. Children confidently wash their own hands before snack time and are encouraged to wash their own plates and cups.
• Leaders and staff are passionate about their roles and proactive. They have strong, effective links with professionals involved with the children's care. Staff listen to advice from professionals and implement it in practice to close the gaps in learning. Leaders use additional funding to secure calming sensory resources to support children with regulating their emotions.
• Staff value each parent's views and listen to their opinions. Their inclusive approach results in strong relationships with parents. Staff provide parent support sessions on how they can support their child's development at home. Parents report feeling highly supported by staff and appreciate how well their children are prepared for moving on to school.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen the support for staff to build their confidence and skills in consistently providing high-quality interactions, with particular regard to supporting children's physical skills outdoors
• review and improve the organisation of transitions to keep children engaged and reduce the amount of time they spend waiting.