Denehurst Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are welcomed each day by the friendly and caring staff. Nursery leaders are passionate in their commitment to providing children with the best care and education possible. Leaders, alongside staff, plan a rich and exciting curriculum that motivates all children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff enable children to become fully immersed in their play and develop a deep level of concentration, which means that they get the most out of the learning opportunities available to them. Well-thought-out activities and experiences are cleverly located, which triggers children's curiosity. Children ask staff questions and show excitement at the discoveries they make. They are offered learning experiences that promote excellent imagination skills. For example, children pretend to make cookies while in the sand tray. They recite the recipe as they carefully mix the batter, adding their ingredients together. They become fully engrossed in their roles.

Children have exceptional opportunities to access a range of cultural capital experiences. Staff carefully consider the individual children and build on this to enhance their experiences for all. For example, the children have access to language sessions with 'Spanish Pete'. Staff have high expectations of children's behaviour and are superb role models. Children are confident communicators. For example, they confidently engage in conversations with visitors and proudly show them around the setting. A culture of respect is developed through the way staff and children speak to one another.

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

• The exemplary manager and her team demonstrate complete dedication to providing the highest-quality care and education for all children. Managers are highly reflective and evaluate all aspects of practice and the environment to provide children with a safe and exciting space to learn. Staff feel valued and respected in the work they do. Managers place the upmost importance on ensuring the well-being of all. All staff receive excellent support, advice and training. Staff comment on how much they love working in the nursery and the relationships they make with the children and their families. They take pleasure in the opportunities available to develop their teaching further.
• Managers support staff to develop strong key-person systems that support children extremely well. Staff complete accurate assessments of children's learning. They use knowledge of their key children to carefully plan for what children need to learn next. Staff offer an appropriately challenging and ambitious curriculum for all children, including children with SEND. The manager is also the trained special educational needs coordinator (SENCo), who works closely with staff and delivers high-quality interventions for children with SEND.
• As a result, all children make significant progress in their learning. This prepares them for the next stages in learning.
• The curriculum for communication and language is a real strength of the nursery. Interactions between staff and children are very respectful and responsive. Staff provide outstanding support for children's learning by providing clear instructions and modelling new skills. Children's understanding is further supported as staff routinely use Makaton and visual aids to help embed their learning. Staff practice is of a consistently high standard.
• The manager leads a highly professional staff team. Staff engage positively in opportunities for training and development. For example, recent training on sensory processing and communication has led to staff self-evaluating and looking in detail at their environments and interactions with children. As a result, they have improved how they communicate with children. Staff in each room have an excellent understanding of how to plan for the skills and knowledge they want children to learn. This helps prepare children extremely well for their next stages of learning.
• There is a very strong focus on early literacy. Staff help to instil a love of books and storytelling for children at all stages of their development. They use books as starting points for activities and include them in all spaces that children use. For example, staff bring the story 'We're Going on a Bear Hunt' alive as the children are 'squelching' through the 'thick oozy' mud in the garden. This introduces children to new words while while helping their physical development.
• The SENCo and staff create highly effective partnerships with parents, recognising that they are important in helping them support children's learning successfully. Parents comment on how they feel valued as part of their children's learning through support from the 'phenomenal' team.
• Staff support children to develop their self-confidence and self-esteem through meaningful learning experiences. Children's behaviour is exemplary. Staff help children learn the impact of their actions on others. Children respect their peers and staff. The staff use children's interests to help keep them fully engaged and focused throughout the day. As a result, children are motivated and eager to join in with and lead their learning.
• Staff offer children rich experiences and support them to develop an understanding of the communities they live in. Children develop a positive attitude to the importance of good oral hygiene through planned visits to the local dentist. They also learn simple words in Spanish through regular visits from a teacher. This contributes to children's understanding that some people use different languages.