Dickory Dock Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), thoroughly enjoy their time at this stimulating and warm, welcoming nursery. They make very strong and sustained progress in all aspects of their development. Children are extremely well prepared for the next stage in their learning, including starting school. For example, children confidently and imaginatively create their own dramatic story using natural resources based on their favourite witch tales. They accurately use a rich vocabulary for 'mixing the ingredients', stirring the 'cauldron' and 'casting spells'.

Children are safe and secure. They are extremely well behaved. Babies build very strong bonds with the experienced and skilled staff who care for them. They rapidly acquire the confidence to explore the world around them. For instance, they love to dive their hands into trays of floury substances and watch it trickle through their fingers. Children learn how to take care of themselves and live healthily. For example, they regularly participate in highly motivating gymnastic and yoga activities and enjoy nutritious meals based on food from around the world.

Parents are highly appreciative of the professionalism, warmth and care the managers and their staff show at all times. They welcomed the strong measures staff took to keep everyone safe during the COVID-19 pandemic and, in particular, the very positive support for children's personal and social development.

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

• The experienced and ambitious management team provides thorough and considerate leadership. They are extremely well supported by their fully committed staff team. The managers skilfully evaluate the effectiveness of the nursery to make sure that it constantly improves. Staff are passionate about their roles. They make full use of quality training to create exciting education programmes to support, for example, children's speaking skills, emotional well-being and readiness for school.
• Staff develop children's speaking and listening skills extremely well. They skilfully plan, for example, to introduce children at each age group to a rich and broad vocabulary built on their own interests and widening knowledge of the world. They ensure children hear new words frequently and help make them memorable. For example, two-year-olds love to 'squash, squeeze, stretch, stamp' and 'smash' their modelling material in musical 'dough gym' activities.
• Staff provide highly effective support to children with SEND. Staff identify possible gaps in children's development at an early stage and act promptly to address them. They plan very precisely to help children achieve key steps. Staff work closely with other professionals, such as speech therapists and local authority advisors, to ensure children achieve their potential. They make excellent use of any additional funding to meet children's individual needs and create a supportive learning environment.
• Children develop a love of books and stories. They are very well prepared for developing their reading skills. Staff identify a range of songs, rhymes and books that children will experience as they progress through the nursery. Babies love singing traditional songs, such as 'Wind the bobbin up', and enthusiastically match the actions to the song. This helps them develop common cultural and language experiences as well as their physical skills. Staff read with skill and enthusiasm. Staff make excellent use of puppets, costumes and role play to make reading experiences memorable.
• Children are extremely well behaved and considerate to each other. They follow the nursery chant 'choose it, use it and put it away' very effectively. They enjoy taking responsibility for tidying away their own toys as they go along and working together to clear away as sessions end. Children engage in friendly discussions as they eat their nutritious meals and snacks while serving themselves and trying exciting new food.
• Staff promote children's personal development, health and well-being extremely well. Children's decision-making skills and sense of fairness are strongly developed. For example, staff teach children how to cast a vote for activities they would like to be made available. Throughout the nursery, all children enjoy learning key words and phrases from the home languages children speak, such as Spanish, Kurdish and Japanese. Children learn about their different cultures and faiths.
• Parents welcome their involvement in the life of the nursery. They appreciate staff's extensive knowledge of their children and the support they offer for their children's learning and development at home. For instance, staff performed useful videos of storytelling, yoga and dance activities for parents to follow during the COVID-19 pandemic. Parents welcome the very detailed and reassuring pictures and information on their children's learning throughout the day.