Clifton Village Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enter this stimulating environment excitedly. They immerse themselves in the excellent activities that challenge and inspire them to learn. Staff use their knowledge of children's interests and abilities to carefully plan activities that enhance their learning, building on what they already know. All children become confident individuals who make choices and develop independence.

Children very confidently follow routines, such as using soap to wash their hands then rinsing and drying them before sitting at the table for lunch. Staff interactions with children are outstanding. Children show intense concentration for their ages. They try hard and explore freely, as they quickly learn and master new skills.

Leaders and staff spark children's natural curiosity through a world of 'awe and wonder'. Children are highly motivated individuals. They remember what they have learned about 'London' and rightly express that 'Big Ben is the bell inside the clock'. Children share their excellent knowledge of other buildings in London. For example, they talk with the inspector about 'The Houses of Parliament'.

Behaviour in the nursery is exceptional. Children understand the importance of being respectful, kind and caring towards each other. Older children negotiate well as they play. They work harmoniously as they build slopes and make predictions. Children excitedly approach the planting and growing area. They express sheer delight when they observe that the courgettes have grown. Children of all ages curiously explore, investigate and form ideas.

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

• The quality of teaching throughout the nursery is outstanding. Staff follow children's interests exceptionally well. Therefore, children are highly motivated and eager to join in with play opportunities. Staff use their expert knowledge and adapt experiences to support each individual child's development. Consequently, they provide focused teaching and support, enabling the children to develop new skills and knowledge.
• Children become confident and fluent users of language. Staff support language development with exceptional skill. They ensure that all interactions are of a high quality, modelling language with precision and clarity. Where children's language skills are lower than expected, staff apply highly effective action to close gaps in progress. They make sure that children can communicate with high levels of confidence.
• Children show a huge desire to explore and learn. They approach their play with extremely high levels of determination and confidence. Children benefit from rich opportunities that help them have an excellent insight into each other's backgrounds and diversity. For example, children learn about everyone's important celebrations. Parents are invited into the setting to talk about national dress. This helps children to highly respect and value each other, and to understand their individuality.
• Staff supervise children very closely. They help them to learn about sharing and taking turns, without affecting children's motivation to explore. Children have highly positive attitudes to joining in, and they develop an excellent early awareness of themselves and others. They show very secure levels of emotional and physical well-being.
• Support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities is outstanding. Leaders and staff swiftly identify where children may need extra support and ensure that effective strategies are in place to meet their additional needs. Leaders and staff sharply monitor children's progress to help them prepare exceedingly well for their next stage in learning. For example, they seek prompt assistance from other professionals, and organise targeted plans to make sure that development gaps close rapidly.
• Leaders and managers are inspirational. They lead a highly dedicated and successful staff team and ensure sustained excellence throughout the provision. Staff well-being is given the highest regard. There is a strong team ethos and staff say how well supported they feel, professionally and personally. Staff's contributions are well considered. This leads to an extremely happy environment for staff and children.
• Staff feel wonderfully supported by the manager and chair of the committee. They receive excellent support to improve their already strong practice. For instance, staff have recently undertaken training that has led to an even stronger focus being placed on children's emotional well-being. Staff now use a wider range of creative resources to help children to further explore and discuss their feelings and the impact of their actions.
• Partnerships with parents are very strong. Parents speak very highly of staff. They report that 'staff go over and above what is expected' and express that 'staff know their children inside out.'