Clarence House Northampton

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children come in happily to the nursery and are keen to explore and play. They have warm relationships with staff, eagerly chattering to them and turning to them for comfort and reassurance. Children make independent choices about their play. They reflect staff's positive attitudes and join in confidently with activities, frequently concentrating for long periods. For instance, children in the toddler room choose paint colours and squeeze these into trays. They laugh as they make marks with paintbrushes and their hands, becoming engrossed as they examine the different paint effects on silver foil.

Children's behaviour is good. They listen carefully to instructions and competently take turns. Children persevere at tasks, for instance, when completing a simple card game. They show empathy and kindly offer to help other children. Practical daily routines support children in becoming increasingly independent. At mealtimes, babies sit at low tables and staff encourage them to feed themselves. Older children gain skills for school as they serve themselves their food and carefully carry it back to their table. Staff understand the possible effects of the COVID-19 lockdowns. They offer additional support to children in developing their speech and their skills in interacting with others.

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

• The manager is clear about the stronger practice in the nursery and the areas that can be further supported and developed. She offers pertinent support and is a good role model. This enables staff to develop their practice and support all children to make good progress. Staff state that they are well supported and feel that managers promote their well-being.
• Staff observe children well and understand what they are learning and what they need to learn next. They offer children interesting activities linked to their interests. Practical monitoring means that any weaker areas in children's learning are quickly addressed. Staff's good understanding of each child means that additional funding is used effectively to promote children's development. Staff work well with other professionals and ensure that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive pertinent support.
• Staff interact well with children and promote their development. For example, older children playing a shopping game concentrate as they remember the position of the cards depicting shopping items. They develop skills in mathematics as they count the number of items and determine which trolley holds the most.
• Children of all ages enjoy looking at the 'my family' displays in each room. They feel comforted when they see photographs of their family. Additionally, these displays spark conversations, for example, about different family compositions and traditions, helping children to gain a practical awareness of diversity.
• Staff make good use of opportunities to build on children's language and communication skills. This particularly supports children who speak English as an additional language. Staff frequently sing to children, and toddlers particularly enjoy this, smiling and singing their response. Babies exploring dry cereal giggle as staff encourage them to listen to the 'crunch'. Older children use their good language skills to describe their play. For example, they develop a scenario involving role-play figures, stating that these are fairies that can 'make themselves invisible'.
• With good staff support, children develop an enjoyment of books and reading. They talk about their favourite books and frequently act out these stories and make their own illustrations of the characters.
• Children enjoy the time they spend outside. They develop physical skills and an understanding of safety as they climb up to the slide, taking turns and allowing each other sufficient space. However, children do not have consistent opportunities to fully explore and develop their play and learning outside, particularly children who prefer to be outdoors.
• Parents hold the nursery in high regard and are pleased with the good progress their children make. They praise staff and report that they communicate well so that parents know what their children have been doing. However, staff do not offer as much support as possible to aid parents in building on their children's learning at home.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff in making greater use of outdoor areas to offer children further play and learning opportunities, particularly for children who prefer to be outside
• increase the support to parents to aid them in building on their children's learning.