Corner House Nursery Lawton Road

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy in this nursery. They show that they feel safe by snuggling into their carers and sharing their feelings. Children are well behaved and respectful towards their friends and the staff. Staff know all the children well. They celebrate their talents and encourage them to follow their own interests. Staff understand that each child is unique. They make plans and use creative strategies to support their needs.

Staff ensure that all children reach their full potential through a coherent curriculum. Babies explore their surroundings with the support of nurturing staff. They enjoy a trip to a local sensory garden and return with lavender to use in a sensory basket. Toddlers stretch high to paint an outdoor wall using rollers. They enjoy using pretend telescopes while reading 'There's a Shark in the Park'. Older children are completely immersed in a space theme. They drop objects into flour and delight in measuring the size of the craters that are created. They use the new vocabulary they have learned to talk about planets, gravity and velocity. Children are curious and enthusiastic to find out about the world around them. Staff ask questions that extend children's learning.

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

• The curriculum is effective. Children make links between ideas and build on previous learning. Children explain that humans could not live on a certain planet because there is no gravity. Others add that it would also be too cold because it is far from the sun.
• Staff assess what children already know and build on it. This ensures that all children are challenged. However, teaching practice in the toddler room does not always sustain the interest of all children. As a result, opportunities for learning are not maximised.
• Staff seek the best outcomes for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They work with other agencies to develop effective strategies. Staff have high ambition for each individual child. As a result, children with SEND make good progress.
• Staff introduce new vocabulary and support children to use it with confidence. In the outdoor area, children take turns to stamp on an air pump, which launches a toy rocket. Staff explain that the force of the air pushes the rocket upwards. When children send the rocket sailing over a fence, they laugh and comment 'that was a lot of force'.
• Children are familiar with a range of stories and rhymes. Staff read engaging stories to children throughout the day. Children share books with friends and talk about what they see. This encourages a love of reading.
• A strong key-person system is in place. Parents know who their children's key person is and feel comfortable talking to them about their children. This ensures that children feel secure and their needs are met. Barriers to learning are quickly identified. For example, when children become upset at having to stop playing at lunchtime, staff quickly intervene and engage and encourage them to help to set the table. This gives children a sense of pride.
• The setting provides healthy meals and snacks. Suggestions from parents about food from different cultures are included in the menu. Children tell the inspector 'I've never had jambalaya, it looks nice'. Staff talk to children about being healthy in ways that they understand. For example, they say 'red fruit helps your heart to grow strong'. This supports children to make healthy choices and enjoy a varied diet.
• Leaders promote a culture of professional development and support. Staff feel happy in their work place and find the manager approachable. Practice improves as a result of regular observations.
• Staff encourage independence. Children serve their own food and drinks and tidy up after playing. Children show high levels of respect and care for their physical environment.
• Staff find meaningful ways to teach children about diversity. For example, children visit residents in a local care home. An ongoing project explores the links that pre-school children have to different cultures. This includes trying Chinese food and looking at traditional Zimbabwean clothing. Children try painting with a bandaged arm to understand the artist Renoir's struggle with arthritis. This develops a good understanding of equality and diversity.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance staff practice in the toddler room to deliver engaging and effective learning experiences for children.