Dolls House Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff listen to children at every opportunity. They notice and respond to the little things that children say. For example, staff pause story time when children express their feelings, and they help to expand children's vocabulary. They also respond quickly when children suggest ways to extend a task, such as helping them find interesting containers to hold sand. Staff have very high expectations for how children can contribute. As a result, children learn that what they say and do matters. This helps them feel valued in an exceptionally nurturing environment.

Staff use their in-depth and precise knowledge of each child to very successfully capture children's imaginations and inspire them to investigate. Children brim with excitement as they become engrossed in their freely chosen play. Toddlers count with coloured buttons, which they then use as characters in their nursery rhymes. Older children cook and season 'food' in the role-play area. Babies explore interactive objects and musical instruments in the sensory room, wide eyed and smiling. Children are fully engaged with the curriculum at all times as they talk, play and explore.

Children's behaviour is exceptional. Toddlers help adults to clear up after tasks and share resources without disagreement. Pre-school children are highly attentive and able to follow complex instructions in large groups. For example, they work well together to create a small percussion orchestra. Pre-school children demonstrate independence skills ready for their eventual transition to school.

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

• The excellent management team collaborates exceptionally well with staff to create an engaging and well-implemented curriculum. Staff feedback has resulted in several priorities for children's learning, including promoting children's independence through exploration and developing their resilience. For example, staff teach children to identify and work through feelings of frustration as they persevere. Staff also skilfully ask questions that help children consider different ways of approaching tasks. In addition, management fully enables staff to accurately assess what children know and can do so that meaningful next steps are set to support development.
• Staff are highly effective at embedding mathematical learning across all age ranges. Babies listen to numbers as staff count the blocks they play with. Young toddlers trace figures in the sand as they develop early number recognition skills. Older toddlers count and group objects, and they observe the difference in quantities between groups. Pre-school children apply their knowledge of number in different contexts. For instance, they count the beat as they make music. This supports children to make consistent progress in mathematics.
• Parental feedback is exceptionally positive. A significant number of parents wanted to share their praise for staff, who help their children to progress in areas such as confidence, communication and social skills. Parents report that their children talk about the setting when at home and want to come on the days they do not attend. These excellent parent partnerships have also supported children with significant changes in their life, such as a new baby at home.
• There are superb arrangements to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The special educational needs coordinator collaborates fully with other agencies and ensures that staff have access to relevant specialist advice. For instance, communication strategies have been introduced and evaluated to better support children who are developing their language skills. Consequently, children who start at the setting with specific delays in their learning make excellent progress in their communication and social skills.
• There is a constant drive for improving outcomes for all children. Staff are encouraged to suggest changes to activities, rooms and resources. For example, following observations of how babies access the main room, a role-play area was redesigned as a sensory corner, which better supports them to explore. The highly approachable and motivating manager also offers staff more formal observations of their interactions with children. This results in valued, supportive feedback that ensures the quality of teaching remains high across the setting.
• Staff provide children with a rich and exciting set of experiences that give them a deeper understanding of the wider world. Nurses and police officers have visited the setting to give practical demonstrations to the children about their jobs. Scavenger hunts are arranged around the local area. This gives children a deeper understanding of their local community. In addition, children learn about the diversity of the natural world following trips to the local pet shop, observation of tadpoles as they grow into frogs and by caring for the setting's resident guinea pigs.