Clowns Nursery Care Limited

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive and are warmly greeted by staff at this large, well-resourced nursery. Staff teach children important personal values, such as kindness, well across the nursery. Children learn to treat each other and adults respectfully. As they play and interact together, children remind each other of the rules, saying, 'sharing is caring.'

At the time of the inspection, many children were new to the nursery. Staff help younger children to settle in well, as they are kind and nurturing. Children are comforted by staff's reassurance and cuddles. Key persons get to know their individual children well and are sensitive towards their needs.

Children happily change into their outdoor clothing to play in all weathers. Older children enjoy being active during additional outdoor physical activities, drama and yoga sessions, run by specialist coaches. Children join in with music and movement games outdoors. They use a variety of movements, like bending, stretching, jumping and spinning. They move with confidence and enjoy exploring what their bodies can do.

Children help to plant winter vegetables, including potatoes. Afterwards, these are harvested and used in cooking. Younger children enjoy plenty of messy play and sensory exploration. Babies enjoy digging in wet sand, and toddlers enjoy making creations from coloured dough.

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

• Mealtimes for babies and younger children are happy, social occasions. Staff sit with children while they share what foods they like best. Children display hearty appetites. They enjoy eating warm meals, such as potatoes, broccoli and vegetable gravy, that support their physical health.
• Staff support children's language and speaking skills well. They consistently narrate children's actions and label objects and toys. Babies respond with clearly spoken single words. Older children confidently express themselves using full sentences. Staff support children who speak English as an additional language well. They learn key words children use at home and repeat them during their interactions with children at nursery.
• Younger children show that they love books. They listen attentively to the stories adults read to them. They are keen to join in with their favourite parts, such as when words rhyme with each other. Children choose books for themselves from within their rooms. They excitedly point to the pictures and finish the adult's sentences.
• Staff teach children about festivals and celebrations from around the world.
• They celebrate International Day, Rosh Hashanah and the carnival. These excellent experiences help to prepare children for life in modern Britain.
• Support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is strong. The special educational needs coordinator and staff ensure effective relationships with external professionals, such as occupational therapists and speech therapists, support the early identification of children's needs. Individual support plans provide clear targets that identify the small steps of learning for each child.
• Older children learn to follow the routines of the nursery well. Staff use resources, including visual timetables and songs, to help children recognise different times throughout the day. Adult-led larger circle times form part of the routine throughout the nursery. However, these sessions are not adapted or flexible enough to meet the needs of some of the youngest children. During these periods, children quickly disengage and begin to wander, which impacts on their ability to learn.
• Positive relationships with parents are a strength of the nursery. Parents feel that their children's speaking skills develop quickly. They feel that this is because staff share detailed information about what their children are learning at nursery. This enables parents to use the same vocabulary and revisit learning with children at home.
• Staff feel supported well by the manager and her leadership team. They have opportunities to attend training for both personal and professional development. These include opportunities to gain forest school qualifications.
• The manager holds regular supervision sessions and appraisal meetings with staff. She is keen to promote staff and has appointed some as 'champions'. Staff feel that their knowledge and experience is valued by her. Arrangements for monitoring staff's knowledge of the nursery's policies involve scenario-based questioning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review adult-led activities for the youngest children so they are flexible enough to respond to individual children's needs.