Ducklings Private Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thrive and flourish at this welcoming nursery. Staff create an environment which meets all the needs of the children. Children separate with ease from parents and those who may become upset, are soon settled by caring and attentive staff. Children are eager to learn, and staff facilitate this by providing activities which ignite a thirst and curiosity for learning. Staff teach children about life cycles. Recently they have hatched ducks from eggs. Children talk about how one was not strong enough and it died. Staff talk about the different growth cycles of frogs, from spawn, to tadpoles, froglets and frogs. Children learn the difference between a reptile and an amphibian.

Activities are carefully planned by staff who fully understand the learning intent behind each one and what it is they want children to learn. Children enjoy manipulating clay to make their own duck tea light holders. This helps strengthen their fingers for pen control and writing. Mathematics is threaded seamlessly in activities. Staff support children to count and look at colours when playing with building blocks or digging and scooping in the sand. Appropriate challenge is provided for children who are more able as staff teach about 3D shapes and concepts. Children are highly motivated and fully engage in activities sustaining long periods of time at them. Staff skilfully interact with children and continually enhance their learning.

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

• Leaders and staff have made significant improvements since last inspection. The premises are safe and secure. Staff have received 12-week training programme of support. Effective supervisions of staff and access to professional development opportunities ensures the quality of teaching is good, and at times, exceptional. Staff say they feel supported and relish the opportunity to learn more. They are confident in the role they play to safeguard children.
• The nursery curriculum is designed to build on children's knowledge and enhance this with experiences they may not receive elsewhere. For example, children enjoy catching the bus to visit a residential home for the elderly or they walk to their local library. Staff have high expectations for children's learning. Children are provided with lots of opportunities to practise their skills, so they become deeply embedded. Consequently, children make good progress in their learning and are ready for the next stage, and their eventual move to school.
• Children develop a deep love for literacy. They independently chose their stories and staff sit and read with them. Encyclopaedias are available and children sit and talk with staff about different farms. At a dairy farm they talk about where milk comes from and what can be made from it. This sparks discussions about different types of food and what is healthy and what is not.
• Staff are passionate and care deeply about the role they play in shaping young minds. The nursery is currently introducing an early reading programme. This takes place in small group and larger group activities. Children submerse themselves fully in this activity. However, during some group activities, children who are more confident overshadow those who are not. This means that not all children have the same experience of the curriculum.
• Parents speak highly of the nursery and staff. They say their children make good progress in their learning. Information gathered from parents help staff to plan precisely for their child's next steps in learning. This information is shared regularly with them. Parents say they receive support so they can continue their child's learning at home.
• Support for children who may have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is good. The nursery has a trained SEND member of staff who regularly liaises with external agencies. They support parents with any referrals and put a target plan in place to help close any gaps in learning. This means children make the best possible progress they are capable of.
• A strong focus is placed on communication and language. Staff provide a rich environment where children are constantly exposed to language and words. They encourage children to talk and express themselves. Children who may speak English as an additional language receive support to communicate through pictures and sounds.
• Children enjoy lots of fresh air outdoors. They are supported to take risks in a safe and controlled way. Staff help children to walk along balance beams and climb onto wooden cubes. Children jump off but know they must wait for their friends to move. Team games, such as 'Duck, Duck Goose' support children to work together and take turns. Children are respectful and kind to each other. They ensure everyone has a turn, including their friends with SEND who need that extra support.
• The nursery promotes independence. Leaders want to provide more opportunities for children to independently choose whether to learn indoors or outdoors. Currently the nursery uses the school playground and fields, but this is restricted to certain times. The nursery has a small outdoor space and currently operate free flow from indoors to outdoors. Leaders want to enhance the outdoor provision to allow more space for the curriculum to always be delivered, especially for those children who prefer to learn outdoors.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to facilitate group activities to allow children with less confidence to be able to share their thoughts and ideas
• continue to enhance the outdoor provision to deliver the curriculum for those children who prefer to learn outdoors.