Claremont House Nursery School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children benefit from the nurturing and positive relationships that staff build with them. From a young age, children seek comfort and support from staff, which builds their confidence to join in activities and make progress in their learning. Children's next steps in learning, including for those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, are well planned for, as staff make accurate ongoing assessments of children's development. Where gaps in learning are identified, staff and leaders swiftly address these, collaborating with other professionals if needed, to fully meet the needs of every child.

Children are kind and polite. They play well together and enjoy spending time with their friends. Children engage in imaginative play. They take it in turns to take on different roles, such as doctors and patients. Staff extend children's interest and learning by offering new ideas. Children demonstrate good levels of independence throughout their day. For example, they confidently choose books and activities, and they take a lead in their own learning. Older children use large kitchen utensils to self-serve their snacks and use the toilet independently. Staff support younger children to learn how to put on their coats and shoes and hold cutlery correctly. Children are proud when staff praise their good behaviours and achievements.

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

• Leaders and staff create a well sequenced curriculum. They have a good understanding of child development and what they want children to learn. Alongside children's interests, they use this knowledge to plan purposeful activities that support every child to make progress and gain the skills they need for their next stage of learning.
• Staff recognise and praise children's positive behaviours. They skilfully distract children when needed and remind them of what they expect for their behaviours. Staff implement consistent routines that children understand and follow well. For example, when children finish an activity, they know they need to put items away. This helps children to develop an understanding of how to look after toys and supports them to behave well across the nursery.
• Staff are kind and considerate of each child's emotional needs and respond promptly when they notice children are not themselves. For example, on the rare occasion children feel upset, staff remind children it is okay to feel different emotions and take the time to talk to them about how they are feeling. This helps children feel listened to and ready to re-engage in learning. Additionally, staff plan activities to help children to understand how others may feel. This builds children's awareness of themselves and the impact they can have on others.
• Staff are attentive to children's individual care needs and have positive care routines in place. Children are encouraged and learn to attend to their own self-care. For example, staff show children how to wash their hands, where to find their water bottles and how to ask for help when needed. This contributes to children's personal development and positive well-being.
• Staff support children's physical development well. They guide and provide instructions to children to support them to use large play equipment safely. Children coordinate their movements and successfully climb stairs, which builds their large muscle strength and balance. Additionally, staff encourage children to use their fine motor skills frequently through a range of activities, such as posting, mark making and creative play. This contributes to children's early writing skills through building control and strength in their hands.
• Generally, staff support children's communication and language well. Staff make sounds and use single words with pre-verbal children. Children copy the sounds they hear and begin to name pictures using new words. However, once children learn to speak, some staff do not consistently support children to develop and extend language beyond what they already know or can say.
• Overall, staff's interactions with children are positive and enthusiastic. They understand what they want children to learn and children engage well during activities. However, on occasion, some staff's interactions are not as strong. Therefore children do not benefit from consistently high-quality teaching to support their learning.
• Partnerships with parents are good. Parents feel fully informed about their child's learning and receive regular updates about their children's next steps. Staff give families ideas and strategies to support their children at home, such as how to introduce toilet training, as well as offering strategies to support their child's behaviour. Parents feel this support has provided a positive impact on their family.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen the consistency of how staff develop children's communication, to extend children's language beyond what they already know or can say
• develop coaching and support for staff to strengthen their interactions, to ensure all children benefit from consistently high quality teaching.