Deanery Road Nursery and Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Overall, children benefit from an effective learning programme. Staff use information from children's starting points to monitor their progress and plan for what they need to learn next. The special educational needs coordinator works effectively with parents and outside agencies to ensure that all children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive good support. This has a positive impact on the quality of education that children receive.

Children are settled in this friendly nursery. They receive a welcoming greeting by friendly staff at the entrance door. The manager has put in place more flexible settling-in practices. Children form close bonds with their key person and most children separate from their parents with ease. This promotes children's emotional health. Children's dietary needs and parental preferences are adhered to. Young children sleep in a calm space in the playroom, and staff monitor them. This supports their health and well-being.

Children are sociable and behave well. Older children engage in activities, such as yoga. They explain what they know about it with friends and staff. At times when they find a yoga position difficult to achieve, they try again and show curiously about their learning.

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

• Staff promote a love of nursery rhymes and stories. Children listen to stories with staff throughout the day. They help children to develop their understanding of stories. Staff explain the different roles of authors and illustrators. This promotes children's early literacy development.
• Staff celebrate children's cultures and backgrounds. For instance, parents are invited to come in and read books in children's home languages. However, staff do not fully support children who speak English as an additional language to hear or use their home language alongside English, to extend their language skills even further.
• The manager values the staff team and observes their practice. Staff receive constructive feedback through supervision. This is helping to improve how staff support some children's communication and language development. However, the manager recognises this is not consistent across the nursery and more can be done to strengthen staff interactions, to further support children's learning.
• Children enjoy calming interactions with staff who support their emotions well. For instance, children take part in a 'mindfulness group' where they focus on their breathing and attention and listening skills. This helps children to regulate how they are feeling.
• Children build strong relationships with their key person who is aware of each child's needs and interests. They use this information to plan and deliver enjoyable experiences.
• Staff help children to learn about their local community. They have regular opportunities to visit places of interest, for instance, the local leisure centre and library. Staff ensure children dress appropriately to learn outside and during light rain children explore how it feels. This helps children to learn about their world in context.
• Staff promote children's physical skills. Pre-school children enjoy taking part in a variety of physical activities. Toddler-age children enjoy chasing bubbles and are learning how to ride bikes. The youngest children have opportunities to develop their small muscles. They build with blocks and play with water. The manager and staff are further enhancing children's physical skills with new climbing resources.
• Staff support children to develop their independence skills. Older children know how to wash their hands and are confident in using the toilets. This supports children's self-esteem.
• On occasion, staff do not model appropriate hygiene procedures for children. For example, they do not discourage young children from eating dry oats from a play resource that other children are playing in. This does not fully aid children's understanding of practices that support their good health.
• Parents speak highly of the manager and staff. They particularly appreciate the manager's support and friendliness of the team. Parents receive regular information about their children's progress from their key person. This supports children's next steps in learning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• help staff to consistently support children who speak English as an additional language, to fully support their language skills
• enhance staff's knowledge of how to maximise their interactions with children to promote their communication and language skills more effectively
• help children to develop a deeper understanding of effective hygiene practices that support their good health.