Clementswood Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thrive at this calm and welcoming nursery. Staff have a genuine caring and warm approach to the children. They arrive happy, safe and secure, parting easily from their parents. Staff talk to children about the activities for the morning, and children greet each other, which excites them.

Staff capture children's interests and set up a mark-making activity. All children are keen to explore this. Staff ask younger children effective questions, and children use simple words to give meanings to the marks they make. Children link these to a nursery rhyme they have been learning. Staff members sing, and children join in with actions. Children concentrate for longer periods of time in the construction area and build simple structures. Staff have high-quality interactions with the children. They role model cooperative play, and children take turns and play collaboratively.

Older children are offered a variety of activities. They can choose between decorating Valentine's Day cards or creating artwork for a loved one. Children practise their cutting and sticking skills, and some write their names on their work. Children talk to staff and their peers about who these are for. Children explain how their person might feel when they receive the artwork.

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

• The manager implements a well-designed, purposeful curriculum that supports all children's learning. Staff receive training delivered by external agencies on oral health. Staff understand all aspects of this, including the importance of brushing teeth and healthy eating. Staff create an inviting dentist role play for older children. They use pretend play to check teeth, and some children can name specific teeth while talking about the importance of brushing.
• Staff demonstrate an understanding of individual children's needs and next steps in learning. For example, staff set out a play dough activity to develop children's fine motor skills. They encourage children who are less confident in larger groups to join this small-group activity. Children begin to form friendships and extend their skills while engaging in activities of common interest.
• Parents talk about the high level of care and support the manager and staff provide. They praise how well they know children and meet with staff to discuss developmental points and the two-year progress checks. The manager, who is the special educational needs and/or disabilities coordinator, meets with parents to ensure that referrals to external professionals are made in a timely manner. Partnerships with parents are a strength of the nursery.
• Staff have high expectations of all children's behaviour. Staff in the toddler room plan a 'what's in the box' group activity to teach children the nursery's golden rules. Staff use visual aids to support children to follow the rules, and children respond well. However, staff working with older children do not consistently implement the golden rules and help children deepen their understanding of why they are in place.
• Staff at the nursery have a focus on developing children's independence ready for the next stage of their development. Younger children develop their use of a spoon during messy play activities and pretend to feed the babies. Children read stories about toilet training. Older children practise self-dressing during role play. Children develop a 'can-do' attitude to meeting their own self-care needs.
• Children learn about similarities and differences to promote their understanding of equality and diversity. Children taste cultural foods and see each other dress up in cultural attire. Parents come into the nursery to share stories about festivals. At times, children and staff use their home language. Staff celebrate children's individuality.
• The manager meets with staff to discuss their training needs, workload and well-being. The manager and her staff complete training at similar times. They reflect on the training and plan actions for improvement together. Staff report high levels of well-being and value the importance of mandatory and non-mandatory training.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop staff practice to help older children understand boundaries and how their behaviours impact others.