Denham Woodlands Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children settle quickly on arrival and they are warmly welcomed by the caring staff. Many children become absorbed in activities that interest them. For instance, children maintained a strong interest when exploring ice using different resources, including paintbrushes and straws. Overall, staff provide consistently good teaching and practice. They know their key children securely, such as their progress and what they need to learn next. Children make good or better progress from their starting points. There are high expectations for all children, particularly for those who need extra help and support. Staff meet the requirements of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) very well.

Staff support new children sensitively. They gain effective information from parents about their children when they start. This helps staff to plan for children's interests and needs from the beginning. Staff help to engage new children in activities they show interest in to encourage them to play and learn. Staff build children's sense of responsibility, such as supporting them to help tidy up. They teach children skills in sharing and taking turns with others, including through playing games during small-group activities. Children learn to do things for themselves and others. For example, they help to prepare fruit for snack time and they learn to visit the toilet and wash their hands by themselves.

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

• Leaders are very committed to supporting children and their families. They use additional funding mindfully in relation to the needs of children and families. Leaders work in strong partnership with parents, professionals and other settings, including schools. This promotes smooth transitions for children on to the nursery and school.
• Leaders provide ongoing support and guidance to staff. They are reflective and gather staff's feedback to help make improvements. Leaders recognise that changes of routine are not always managed effectively. At times, staff do not fully guide children's understanding of the expectations when routines change. This impacts on how well some children engage and maintain their interest during some large-group activities. Leaders are taking steps to address this, such as trying new approaches.
• Leaders understand the learning needs of the children attending very securely. They identify the skills and knowledge children need to gain over time. Staff plan for children's progress with a strong focus on key skills that children need to develop to support their future learning. They generally provide effective teaching and support to children. Staff promote children's independence and give them time to do things for themselves, such as putting on coats and doing up zips. Occasionally, staff are not fully consistent in their approach, which does not always enhance children's skills even further.
• The skilful staff support children with SEND. Some staff have completed specialist training. These staff provide high-quality teaching and activities. Staff implement strategies successfully, including visual communication cards to promote children's communication and understanding. They gain guidance from other professionals and offer suggestions to parents to support their children at home. This helps to provide continuity in meeting and supporting children's needs.
• Staff have a good understanding of the learning intentions. They plan well-considered activities and organise resources effectively, both indoors and outdoors. This offers children choices about where they want to play and helps them to continue their learning in different areas. For example, children actively investigated ice activities throughout the day, indoors and outdoors.
• Staff ensure that children spend time being active. Children benefit from equipment that challenges their physical skills, such as balancing on beams and walking on sloping planks. This helps children to develop their large physical skills successfully. Furthermore, children take part in yoga sessions, which supports their well-being. Staff offer children healthy snacks. Some staff highlight healthy food to children, such as by saying it is 'nice'. However, not all staff build on these discussions to help extend children's awareness of healthy lifestyles further.
• Staff weave in teaching during their interactions with children. For example, they supported children to use their counting and language skills when making 'milkshake' with rice and coloured pom-poms. Children used their imagination to link the colour of the pom-poms to the flavour, such as white for coconut. Children benefit from exploring books, including in small groups or on a one-to-one basis with staff. Staff ask children questions and support them to express their ideas and thoughts. This encourages children to develop confident speaking skills.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop the consistency of staff's practice and build on the overall quality of the provision to extend children's learning, development and progress even further
• enhance children's awareness of healthy lifestyles further, to help them gain more understanding about caring for their bodies.