Culverdene Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are warmly welcomed by staff, and they quickly join their friends in play. Settling-in procedures help children to adjust to attending the nursery. Staff work with parents to find out about their children's needs. They do a baseline assessment soon after they start. This helps them to determine what the next steps in learning will be for each child.

Staff carefully plan activities to build children's independence ready for school. For instance, younger children confidently drink from open cups. Older children proudly show how they can put their own coats on using the 'coat trick' that staff have successfully taught them. Children throughout the nursery enjoy looking at books with staff. Staff talk to them about the pictures and ask them to find things on the page. Children also enjoy singing familiar rhymes and playing instruments.

Staff provide children with lots of opportunities to learn about and be part of their local community. They take children for walks in the local environment. They visit the library, parks, museums and a local mosque. They have regular collections for the local food bank and walk down to deliver what they have collected. This helps children understand about caring for others.

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

• Management and staff have developed a shared vision for the nursery curriculum. The staff are enthusiastic in their work with children. They feel well supported by management. Staff support children's learning through conversation and by asking questions. This helps them to build and develop children's thinking skills as they focus on their chosen activity.
• There is very good support to meet the needs of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff work closely with parents and help to provide early intervention where needed. They provide tailored support to meet individual children's needs. Strong self-evaluation is at the heart of the manager's plans. This has helped management to identify that small groups and higher staff to child ratios work well for some children and helps their development. This has been successfully implemented into the nursery.
• Management makes effective use of funding to support children's development needs. They have used it to provide extra staff to work with smaller groups of children. For example, they have spent funding on staffing for the sensory room. This is so children have access to a calm and peaceful environment.
• Developing communication and language skills is a priority with children. Staff use picture cards to support them when talking to children about what will happen next in the routine. They use sand timers that help children to be prepared for a change in what they are doing. Staff use sign language and model correct pronunciation for children as they join in with their play. This is done consistently throughout the nursery.
• Management and staff have effective partnership working with parents. Parents are full of praise for the nursery and staff. They talk about accessing the nursery's online application, which keeps them informed about what their children have been doing. They are regularly updated on their children's development. Staff support them in how they can continue their children's development at home.
• Staff have excellent procedures to help children understand the routines of washing their hands. When children visit the bathroom, staff make sure they have soap on their hands and encourage them to switch the tap off and dry their hands, when finished. However, some children wash their hands in a shared bowl in the room. This means there is a risk of cross contamination between children.
• Staff work with children to help them understand and regulate their emotions. Staff talk to children and use different colours to help children express how they are feeling. For instance, blue for sad or green for happy. Overall, this works well with children. However, there are times where children are boisterous towards other children and staff do not notice. Management recognises this area of weakness and has plans to address it.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• refine the procedures for all children so that they can wash their hands hygienically
• enhance strategies to manage children's behaviour to make sure that any disputes are quickly resolved.