Early Learners Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff truly value every child as an individual. They greet children with warm interactions and smiles. This helps children to settle quickly, and they show a real eagerness to greet staff and their friends. Staff transform this community hall every day and work hard to make the environment stimulating to build on children's interests, needs and capabilities.

Staff's support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is exemplary. All children, including those with SEND, have a wealth of opportunities to help them develop fundamental skills for their next stage in their education. Staff provide children with a language-rich environment. As a result, older children confidently recall experiences they have taken part in. For example, they articulate what they know about the fruits and vegetables they have been growing. Staff provide exciting experiences for children and continually revisit activities to help consolidate children's learning and build on prior experiences. Most children demonstrate a strong desire to learn.

Staff support children's personal, social and emotional development well. Children develop a positive sense of themselves and learn to respect one another. This can be seen through the strong friendships that children have developed. Staff teach children to value their unique qualities. Pre-school children excitedly share pictures they have drawn, and photos that represent themselves, their family, and their community. Older children show the skills they have learned in preparation for school. For example, they freely draw, give detailed explanations of their pictures, and show perseverance with tasks until they have mastered new skills.

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

• The manager provides strong leadership to the well-established and knowledgeable staff team. They are all highly passionate about providing children with the very best opportunities. Consequently, children thrive and are eager to learn. The manager identifies staff's training needs and professional development opportunities, and uses their skills and expertise well across the setting. Staff's well-being is given the highest regard. This results in the team working extremely well together.
• The SEND coordinator has a wealth of knowledge and expertise, and uses this to determine very quickly if there are any gaps in children's learning. They are proactive with the support they offer to parents and gain any additional support from other agencies without delay. This means that children benefit very quickly from targeted support. The SEND coordinator has completed high level training and is working with the local authority to provide training for other early years practitioners to help them identify early support for children with SEND. This helps to raise outcomes at the setting and beyond.
• The manager has made use of funding to improve the provision for children who need it. For example, they have introduced emotions cards. Children are encouraged to use these to develop their language to talk about and manage their emotions effectively and increase their confidence.
• Staff's partnerships with parents are a real strength. Parents say they feel confident to speak to staff openly about their child. They know their child's key person and are very happy with the information that is shared about their child's development. Parents say that this setting is amazing, and the support they and their child receive is fundamental to the progress children make. Staff give parents ideas of how they can continue to support their child's learning at home.
• Staff foster children's independence well. They encourage children to make choices in their play and effectively support them to manage personal care needs. This results in children being confident to manage toileting, toothbrushing and handwashing routines. However, during transition periods of the day, children sometimes wait for long periods and staff do not consider how to enhance the learning opportunities during these times. This results in some of the younger children, at times, becoming restless.
• Staff provide lots of opportunities to develop children's physical skills. Children thoroughly enjoy their 'wake up and shake up' activity. They move their bodies in different ways to the music and younger children enjoy copying older children. This helps the youngest children to negotiate space and follow direction.
• Children take part in planned story and singing sessions. Older children listen well and recall their favourite stories. The way staff communicate with them sparks most children's interests and enables them to share their ideas, building on their vocabulary and language. However, occasionally, younger children lose focus and staff do not consider how to adapt activities to keep them as highly engaged.
• Older children act as positive role models for the youngest children. They learn to resolve conflicts and follow rules and boundaries. This is helping the younger children to learn some behaviour expectations.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance staff's teaching during transition times to increase opportunities for children's learning
• consider how to further adapt planned activities to encourage the youngest children to become highly engaged in their play and learning.