Eslaforde Private Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive at the nursery with parents, their key person greets each child at the door. This ensures children enter the nursery happily. Pre-school children remove their own coats and bags, identify their name on their coat peg and hang up their belongings. Younger children are accompanied upstairs, while toddlers and pre-school children independently enter their separate learning areas. Children enjoy sharing what has happened before nursery with staff, who extend the conversation using questions. Children make choices from activities tailored to their interests. Younger children laugh as they scoop ingredients into bowls to make play dough. Older children serve themselves at lunchtime, using spoons to scoop and knives and forks to cut. This encourages children's independence and physical development.

Children enjoy group time across the nursery. To support children's communication and literacy, group times involve staff reading children stories. Babies enthusiastically crawl over to staff as they sit down with a book, while older children help to select a book for a staff member to read. Toddlers sing familiar songs, pick associated props out of a basket to support their singing and understanding. Older children make up their own stories, and share these with the group.

Children confidently chat to visitors about displayed pictures and share what they like to play with at nursery. Children are kind and learn to be respectful to each other and staff. Older children start to resolve their own conflicts. Staff support all children to understand one another's feelings. For example, in the baby room, staff label children's emotions and encourage early turn taking. Children understand the daily routine, even the youngest children help to get items ready for nappy changing.

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

• Children have established and strong relationships with their key people. For example, familiar staff calm children quickly by communicating with them and giving them comfort. Because of this children's personal needs and well-being are supported well.
• Children consistently behave well. Staff are positive role models and support children when they occasionally struggle to manage their own behaviour. Children are developing an understanding of the nursery rules and boundaries. Older children remind each other of where to ride their cars in the garden. They use good manners, for example, they remember to say 'no thank you' when refusing something that is offered to them.
• Staff use 'fact finding forms' to gather information, and establish what each child can do at home and what the family would like their child to do next. They keep written information up to date and share this with parents, particularly when children transition into new group rooms or have a new key person. Staff provide daily feedback for parents via an online system. This supports all children to make progress from their starting points, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Staff promote children's love of learning, thinking and imagination. They join in children's play and engage in games children have created. For example, a group of older children work together to mix, pour, add and serve meals in the mud kitchen outside. 'You've got to make a big order', 'this is the best restaurant' children say to staff at their 'restaurant'. Staff pretend to place orders and children serve them bowls of food at a picnic table. Younger children pour water out of bottles, and fill pots and pans with natural resources.
• Children develop good communicate and language skills. Staff communicate regularly with children and help them to expand their vocabulary. They introduce new words and label items to extend children's understanding. Children learn to repeat sounds, use new words and confidently ask questions.
• All children follow good hygiene practices and learn how to keep themselves healthy. Toddlers wash their own hands, while older children go to the toilet on their own. Older children talk about healthy and unhealthy food and the importance of teeth brushing. Children draw 'germs' on their pictures of teeth. They use toothbrushes and toothpaste to clean away the 'germs'.
• Staff state they feel well supported by management. They know who to go to if they need support. Managers hold supervisions and ad hoc meetings with staff. However, some staff are not always fully supported in their professional development to further increase their knowledge, confidence and skills.
• Staff set out resources that meet children's interests and, generally, promote their learning. However, managers and staff are not always clear about what they want children to learn from all activities.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop a more targeted plan for professional development to further increase staff's knowledge, confidence and skills
• extend the managers' and staff's knowledge and understanding of what they want children to learn from the resources they set out and the activities they plan and provide.