Early Bairds Childrens Nursery Billington

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thrive in the care of nurturing staff within this calm and welcoming nursery. Staff communicate with children with warmth and enthusiasm. They regularly praise children to build their self-esteem. In return, children smile confidently and feel proud of what they achieve. New children settle extremely quickly and form close bonds with staff. Staff expertly use information from parents, in addition to their own observations, to precisely plan the experiences they offer to children. Staff are mindful of children's experiences at home and how they can build on them in the nursery. The curriculum is designed to give children the cultural capital they need in life. As a result, children are enthused by feelings of awe and wonder. They have a genuine thirst for learning.

Staff have exceptionally high expectations for all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). All children are highly motivated to persevere with any challenges they encounter. They remain deeply absorbed in activities and develop highly positive attitudes to their behaviour and learning. Staff help children to develop a secure knowledge of the nursery's rules and boundaries. For example, children remind each other to use their 'walking feet' when they are playing inside. They play together patiently and show consideration for their friends. For example, when navigating the balance beam, children help each other by taking each other's hands. The knowledgeable staff ensure that all children are very well prepared for their next stage in learning.

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

• The passionate and dedicated manager creates a unique and highly ambitious curriculum that is implemented extremely well by staff. Children's learning is planned in the right order, enabling them to get the most from the opportunities for learning on offer. Staff plan inspiring activities, which are tailored to respond to children's interests. This highly personalised approach helps all children to make rapid progress in all areas of learning.
• Children with SEND receive excellent support. The experienced special educational needs coordinator and each child's key person, work in partnership with parents and other professionals. Together, they develop individual support plans to further enhance children's learning and development. Any additional funding received by the nursery is spent extremely well, following discussions with parents and key persons to help to ensure that the support is effective. As a result, children receive the help they need to make the best possible progress.
• The manager is highly committed to the continued professional development and training of all staff. Staff continually strive to improve their professional knowledge and practice. Regular training and development opportunities are accurately focused on enabling staff to implement the curriculum consistently well. For example, recent speech and language training has supported the staff to deliver excellent support for promoting children's communication and language development. Training and development continually improve the outcomes for children.
• Staff support children's communication exceptionally well. They prioritise children's communication and language in every interaction. For example, they narrate and weave new words, such as 'faster' and 'slowly', into children's play. Staff help children to recall prior experiences using some complex vocabulary, such as 'active' and 'dormant', as they describe the volcanoes they made. The emphasis on word acquisition supports children's impressive speaking skills.
• Staff encourage children to think critically. They ask probing questions that give older children the opportunity to think about why things happen or how things work. For example, children express their thoughts about how volcanoes erupt and what the lava feels like. Children exhibit high levels of curiosity as staff encourage them to make predictions. These behaviours help them to become highly effective learners.
• Children behave impeccably. Staff expertly and routinely support children to understand the impact of their actions. The language of emotions is skilfully embedded across adult-led experiences, such as circle time. This equips children with the necessary skills to play cooperatively. Children respond positively to recognition and praise from staff as they take turns with resources and demonstrate wonderful kindness.
• The curriculum provides rich opportunities for children to learn about and respect emotions. For example, while they recall the story of 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears', staff encourage children to think about how the bears may feel. Children in the pre-school room make effective use of the 'buddy bench', which prompts conversations about how they are feeling and what can make them feel better. Children develop a deep understanding of recognising emotions at the earliest stage. This supports their personal development extremely well.
• Staff develop extremely successful partnerships with parents and carers. They take the utmost care to welcome, value and support every family. Staff make valuable suggestions and share ideas for what parents can do to further support children's learning at home. Parents are unanimous in their high praise of the outstanding levels of care and attention that their children receive.