Crosby Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff foster children's emotional well-being. Personalised induction plans help to ensure that children are happy and assured from the minute they start. Children clearly enjoy their time at this welcoming nursery. They are confident and independent individuals. Children's good behaviour is demonstrated through their positive actions. For instance, children kindly pour milk for their friends at snack time and clear up any spillages without being prompted. Children are strongly valued. They enjoy 'making their mark' in the form of a handprint on the nursery wall, when moving on to school.

Leaders and staff aim 'to give every child the best possible start in life'. Children are motivated individuals. Babies recall simple phrases, such as 'snap, snap' when looking at a picture of a crocodile within a book. Younger children gain good physical skills, such as when wiggling their fingers and circling their arms during their 'dough disco' sessions. They express a sense of humour when pretending to be a 'scary monster', and carefully check that others are happy before continuing with their play. Older children, including those who attend after school, form recognisable letters when writing Christmas cards. They cleverly use their fingers to subtract numbers during number rhymes, to identify how many are left in a set. Children who speak English as an additional language develop a sense of rhythm when singing in time with others during songs.

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

• Partnerships with parents are superb. Staff recognise that parents interact in many different ways. They use a wide variety of methods to ensure that all parents are fully involved in their children's learning and development. Staff direct parents to fun learning links that inspire children's play. They work with parents to build on children's personal care skills. Parents express that 'children really flourish' and that 'children's confidence continues to grow'.
• Staff promote children's good health incredibly well. Children learn where some of their healthy food comes from when picking apples from the orchard. They use these to bake home-made apple pies, to share with their families at special events. Staff alert parents to issues, such as the sugar content contained in various baby foods. This helps parents to make carefully informed choices about food, and contributes towards children adopting good healthy eating habits.
• Leaders and staff have a superior knowledge of the children and families that attend. They instantly recognise the effects that the cost of living crisis is having on some families, and work hard to prevent any instances of poverty. For instance, staff signpost parents to various places in the community where they can access free dental products and where children can eat for less. This helps to ensure that children continue to lead healthy lifestyles.
• Staff largely focus on supporting children's communication and language skills. Children quickly learn that communication comes in different forms, such as when using Makaton to sign during songs. Older children are delighted when the chef arrives to deliver their lunches. They respond well to questions and know that healthy food 'fills them up'. However, in contrast, younger children are not always given enough time to think and respond to some questions. Additionally, at other times, staff do not reliably intervene to build on children's developing speech and language skills more successfully.
• The caring staff gently support children who struggle to regulate their emotions. Staff are quick to offer a reassuring cuddle and engage children in stories that they know they enjoy. This helps children to regain a sense of calm. Children show appreciation for the food they are about to receive when singing the 'please and thank you' song. They demonstrate respectful attitudes, such as when taking part in a two-minute silence for Remembrance Day.
• Leaders value their staff team. They celebrate staff's special talents through awards, such as 'star baker'. This contributes towards staff's increasing energy and enthusiasm across the nursery. Since the pandemic, leaders have been focusing sharply on supporting staff's well-being. However, this has resulted in the supervision sessions for staff being more infrequent. Although leaders are taking swift action to resolve this, these are not yet fully embedded for all staff.
• Staff support children to develop a love for books and reading. They encourage children to choose their favourite stories to read. Older children learn about the role of an author and an illustrator when looking at books. Babies show a keen interest in taking books home from the 'book swap' cabinet each day.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to extend children's early language skills more successfully, to enable all children, particularly younger children, to make consistently high rates of progress in their communication and language development
• strengthen the current arrangements for staff supervision and provide more frequent and focused support and coaching to all staff, to help them to continue to build on their good knowledge, skills and teaching practice further.