Ecole Du Parc

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

This nursery provides a bilingual environment, which immerses children in English and French. It offers children an extremely caring, safe and nurturing environment. As such, children enter happily and are secure in their attachments with staff. Staff plan an exceptionally well-designed curriculum, allowing children to explore with curiosity, develop problem-solving skills and thrive in all areas of their learning and development.

Children's behaviour is exemplary. Children take turns without prompting and develop a shared narrative to their play. They use their extensive language to share their ideas. For example, children use loose parts to make a boat. They talk about a trip to London and what sites they will see.

Staff have high expectations of children. Children understand the rules and boundaries in the nursery. Older children clearly explain the traffic-light system used by staff within the rooms. Staff promote children's independence very well. For instance, children learn to put on their coats and shoes, ready for the garden. Children show pride in accomplishing these tasks, coming to share with staff and saying, 'I did it'. Staff are quick to offer children praise and encouragement.

The provision for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is excellent. Staff understand how crucial early intervention is to fully support children and their families. Parents praise the impact the interventions have had on their children.

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

• Leaders and managers are passionate about ensuring that all children can access the best opportunities for early education. They have a clear vision for the nursery and continuously reflect and build on their outstanding practice.
• Staff know children exceptionally well. They accurately record children's starting points in development. This ensures that children's next steps in learning offer challenge and build on what children already know and can do. Staff are skilled in adapting activities to suit the individual needs of children to ensure that each opportunity provides the right level of challenge or support. Children leave extremely well prepared for the next stage of their learning.
• Staff feel well supported by leaders and managers. They receive regular supervision sessions, peer-on-peer observations and training. Staff are passionate and enthusiastic. Managers wholeheartedly support staff's ideas to continue to expand what they can offer children. Staff, who want to share their love of nature with children, have set up weekly forest school sessions on Clapham Common. Other initiatives include a painting room, which allows children the freedom to be creative without constraint.
• Staff provide children with an extremely language-rich environment in French and English. Songs and stories form an integral part of each day. Younger children repeat words with growing confidence and join in with actions to familiar rhymes. Older children converse easily together, sharing past events and what is important to them. While reading stories, children show comprehension of the theme, relating the story to similar real-life experiences. Children make predictions about what may happen next.
• Mealtimes are a sociable event, where children sit together and discuss their morning. Staff provide healthy meals and snacks daily. Children talk confidently about their individual dietary needs and foods that are good for them. There is an abundance of opportunities for children to be physically active and develop their small and large muscles. Children jump from platforms, landing carefully. They balance, climb, throw and catch, as well as enjoying the 20-minute weekly walk to Clapham Common for forest school.
• The nursery provides an inclusive environment in which children develop a positive sense of self. Children are extremely confident to talk about their families, where they come from and what is important to them. Staff embed British values, and children are extremely respectful towards one another. Staff use different events to provide children with opportunities to further learn about the cultures of their peers. For instance, during a month of 'gastronomy events', parents were invited into the setting to cook a recipe with the children that reflected their cultural background.
• Partnership with parents is excellent. Parents are extremely positive in their feedback of the setting. They praising staff's 'unwavering kindness and care' in guiding their children and for setting 'clear boundaries that foster a safe and stimulating environment'.