Dragonflies Community Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children flourish at this caring and nurturing nursery. They are excited to arrive, and they settle quickly as they seek out their friends to play with. Babies are extremely well cared for. They are calm in the presence of the sensitive and affectionate adults who they trust and who know them very well. Children behave exceptionally well. For instance, they look after resources and take responsibility for washing dishes and tidying them away. Children have exemplary manners and are very kind to each other. They are keen to include adults in their play and display wonderful social skills when meeting new visitors to the nursery. For example, they approach the inspector and say with a smile, 'Are you new? You can help us build this den if you like'.

Children enjoy a range of exciting and challenging activities. They demonstrate extremely high levels of engagement. Children persevere and are keen to solve problems for themselves. For instance, they follow pictorial cues on how many scoops to use when measuring out ingredients to make dough. They count scoops confidently, predict how much they will need and recognise when they have too much. All children make exceptional progress from their starting points. This is due to the highly ambitious and extremely well-sequenced curriculum, that is delivered by a talented and skilled staff team.

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

• Leaders have very high expectations for children to be ready for their next educational journey and to succeed in life. This particularly applies to those children who are disadvantaged or have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Leaders inspire the staff and support them to develop and improve their already excellent practice. A real strength of the nursery is the leaders' commitment to serving the children's families. The leaders are highly motivated and think of unique ways in which they can support families to engage in their child's learning.
• All children, including babies, are engaged in meaningful play throughout the day. For example, older children access intervention groups across the nursery, where staff are well deployed to inspire them in their learning. Staff examine and discuss factual books with children, who use this information to build a tower for dinosaurs to climb. Children quickly act when it collapses to 'build it better and stronger'.
• Children develop a love of books and stories which has an impressive impact on their communication and language. Babies clap and use shakers when songs are sung to them. They cuddle up with staff and become engrossed in the stories. Children across the nursery use books in their play. They sit alongside each other, sharing stories and discussing the characters and the plot which they then extend into their play in the garden. Children take books home in interactive packs so that families can act out stories using puppets and props. As a result of this focus on early reading, children are extremely well prepared for the next stage in their education.
• Partnership with parents is exemplary. Leaders engage families in a variety of ways. For instance, they attend the regular play afternoons and take part in information sessions, which help parents with their child's diet, oral health and how to keep their children safe online. Parents comment that the nursery has been a 'lifeline', and that the service provided has had such a positive impact on their lives. Parents are delighted with the interactive home-learning packs and digital tutorials on current poems and stories. They are grateful that they can take bicycles and other equipment home so that their children can get the benefit of more physical exercise in the local parks.
• Children have a thorough understanding of what a healthy lifestyle looks like. They tell the inspector that 'running around in the fresh air is very good for breathing and is fun.' Children have their own growing garden at the nursery. They expertly plant seeds and confidently explain that the water and sun will make them grow into vegetables, which they will eat. Children carefully and independently transport the potted seeds to a greenhouse. They are praised by staff for doing this for themselves. Children beam with pride when they attempt something for the first time. They have high self-esteem and confidence.