Diddy Dinos Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thrive at this highly inclusive and extremely welcoming nursery. They form secure attachments with staff, who thoroughly respect each child's needs and interests. Staff differentiate the curriculum extremely well to provide varying levels of challenge, considering the differing needs of children who attend. The highly engaging curriculum is well embedded. For example, children thoroughly enjoy sampling different textured foods for 'foodie Friday', such as Chinese pancakes and spring rolls, describing their taste and texture. Staff skilfully question children and encourage them to think for themselves. They use visual objects and books to help to communicate with children during language activities. This helps to develop children's understanding and language skills superbly. Staff skilfully embed children's mathematical development through a range of activities. For example, they encourage children to take part in activities, such as reading numerals and matching to objects and balancing the scales with bears. Children learn to recognise which number is missing and how many more they need.

Children behave exceptionally well. They listen extremely well and keenly raise their hands to engage in group activities. Children are proud of carrying out routine activities, such as tidying up and being the 'daily helper', where they keenly support their friends. The provider is highly attentive to children's well-being. Staff build meaningful relationships with children, which develop their confidence and ability to talk about their experiences. Staff's interactions are exemplary, fostering children's deepened knowledge about subjects through high-quality conversations. Because of this, children confidently share their observations during play. Staff cultivate children's confidence, enabling them to engage in meaningful discussions and share newfound knowledge with their friends.

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

• Staff have developed highly engaging strategies to involve parents and carers. They share very regular information and ideas that enable parents to extend their children's learning at home. Relationships between parents and staff are trusting and respectful. Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the nursery. They comment that staff are incredible and go above and beyond.
• There is a highly robust key-person system in place. Staff know their key children exceptionally well and how to support any possible gaps in their learning. They have high expectations of what they want children to learn. This helps all children to make excellent progress in relation to their starting points in development, particularly those with special educational needs and/or disabilities or from a disadvantaged background.
• The provider has meticulously developed an ambitious curriculum that prioritises communication and language and respectful relationships with children. This approach ensures that children acquire the skills to form friendships confidently and engage in purposeful communication, promoting their independence.
• Staff pride themselves on offering children experiences that embed their learning. For example, to support their learning about Chinese New Year, children listen and keenly repeat phrases in Chinese from a book.
• Leaders monitor and support staff in excellent ways. They spend time observing staff's practice and give precise feedback to enhance their skills. Leaders take every opportunity to model good practice to staff and have regular individual meetings with staff to offer support.
• Leaders enable staff to attend a wide range of courses to enhance their knowledge and practice. For example, staff join 'talk and move' sessions with children to supporting their language skills and confidence, which has led to better outcomes for children.
• The provider emphasises the importance of friendships in enhancing children's overall happiness and safety. Staff foster an environment where children feel comfortable making requests and sharing their ideas. This curriculum supports children to build their self-belief and take initiatives.
• Children are very articulate and use expressive language exceptionally well. For example, they comment as they compare sizes that the 'apple is enormous'. Staff have regular small-group focused language sessions where they use objects for children to practise their descriptive language. They provide storytelling, and children have access to a very wide range of books to support their language and literacy skills. Children are highly motivated, actively engaged and enthusiastic about their learning.
• Staff meticulously plan rich experiences, such as visits from farms, dentists and 'princesses', to support children's understanding of how they are different and unique, to support a broad and balanced curriculum. Leaders encourage parents to share resources and to visit the setting to share information about festivals that are important to them. This helps children to learn about different cultural celebrations.