Credenhill Nursery Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and settled at this welcoming nursery. They display positive attitudes to learning and move freely around the well-organised environment to engage in their chosen play, both indoors and outdoors. The caring staff know children and their families well. When children first begin to attend, staff invite them into the nursery to attend stay-and-play sessions. This supports children and parents to build secure relationships with staff from the start and to familiarise themselves with the surroundings.

Staff make regular assessments of what children know and can do, and they use this information to plan what children need to learn next. This helps children to make good progress from their starting points. Staff support children's early literacy skills in a range of ways. They enthusiastically read stories to them and encourage children to join in with action songs and rhymes. Children follow staff's instructions and enthusiastically move their bodies in different ways. They are beginning to give meaning to the marks they make as they draw pictures with chalk on the blackboard. Children engage in thoughtful conversations with staff and talk to them about what they have drawn. Staff support children to be independent and take responsibility for small tasks. Children are learning to use equipment, such as a small broom and a dustpan and brush to clear the sand from the floor. They confidently use safety knives to butter bread as they help staff prepare sandwiches for snack. Children are eager to set the table, placing a table cloth down before gently laying out porcelain plates and cups for their friends. Once they have finished eating their snack, children carefully place their used crockery in the kitchen area.

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

• Leaders are dedicated to their roles and strive to deliver high-quality care and education to all children at all times. They encourage staff to continue their professional development and provide training opportunities around their individual interests and needs. This helps staff to enhance their already good knowledge and skills. Leaders know their staff team well because they work alongside them each day. That said, they are yet to establish highly effective methods to monitor the quality of staff's day-to-day practice to identify areas for development and raise the quality of teaching to an outstanding level.
• Although staff provide children with a good balance of adult-led and child-initiated play activities, they do not always align their teaching with curriculum goals or children's next steps in learning. At times, staff's expectations are too broad because they focus on too many areas at once. For example, they aim for children to improve their communication, listening, attention and mathematical skills, while also exploring and investigating resources. This approach makes it difficult for staff and children to focus on the key learning goals to help them make the best possible progress in their learning and development.
• Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour. They treat children with kindness and respect. Children follow their lead and play cooperatively with their friends. They are learning to share and take turns and display good manners. Children thank their friends at snack time for passing them the bowl of fruit.
• Parents are very happy with the care and education their children receive. They comment on staff's excellent communication, the great progress their children make and how happy children are to attend.
• Excellent partnerships are in place with the primary school most children will go on to attend. Staff invite Reception teachers to visit the nursery, allowing them to meet the children in their own surroundings. This helps children feel comfortable with the teachers when they move to school. Staff regularly take children to attend school events to further familiarise them with their new environment. For example, children enjoy attending group assemblies in the school hall, where they sit with older students to listen to the Christmas story.
• Children have daily opportunities to be physically active and play outside in the fresh air. Staff provide children with suitable clothing so they can play outside, regardless of the weather. Children explore the outdoor area with excitement and enthusiasm. They focus as they search for bugs and worms, lifting up pots to look underneath. Staff supervise children well and wait for children to invite them to join their play. Children competently swing and balance on small apparatus. They excitedly move wheeled toys up and down the path. This helps to develop their core strength and hand-eye coordination.
• Hygiene and care practice is good. Most children toilet themselves and understand the importance of good hygiene practice. They wash their hands at regular intervals throughout the day. Staff gently attend to children who need extra support with their personal care.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen the monitoring of staff's practice to precisely identify areas for development to raise the quality of teaching to an outstanding level
• review curriculum intentions during learning activities to ensure they are precise and focus on children's next steps in learning, to deepen their understanding and support them to make even better progress.