Fairytales Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are settled and content attending. Staff develop lovely, positive and caring relationships with children. They care deeply about the children in their care and want the best for them. Babies seek out staff for comfort and reassurance. Two- to three-year-old children behave incredibly well and giggle with delight during their social lunchtime meal. Pre-school children learn about the nursery golden rules. During planned activities, staff teach them how to listen to each other, solve problems and negotiate with their peers.

Overall, the curriculum is good. The nursery environment is well organised and resourced throughout. Children have a lot of fun, and they engage in a broad range of exciting experiences throughout the day. For example, babies enjoy the calming effects of baby yoga. They also love playing outside in the garden in the water and blowing bubbles. Two- to three-year-old children enjoy story and singing sessions during group time. Pre-school children enjoy art and craft activities. They make creations from paint, cornflour mixed with water and play dough. Staff support them to use their imaginations and make connections in their learning, including links to a recent story they have been reading. Therefore, all children make good progress in their learning.

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

• Leadership is strong. The management team have a real vision for the nursery. They are highly reflective, and they strive to achieve the best outcomes for all children. For example, the management team are in the process of reflecting on the curriculum and embedding a new ethos. This includes reviewing some of the strategies available to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). However, as a result, staff do not yet make the best use of all available resources and tools to fully engage children with SEND throughout the day.
• The environment is clean, secure and safe. All drop off and collections of children are well managed. The designated safeguarding leads are knowledgeable in their roles, and all staff know and understand their safeguarding duties. Recruitment and induction for new staff are robust. All those working with the children are suitably vetted. Risk assessment practice is strong. Staff are well deployed, and children are supervised continuously throughout. Record-keeping is accurate, including accident and injury forms. This helps to meet children's needs.
• The management team are open and approachable. They prioritise staff's well-being and carefully monitor their practice. Mutual respect and teamwork are evident here, and any issues are promptly addressed. Staff comment that they feel incredibly well supported in their roles. They are encouraged to reflect on practice, share their ideas and continually upskill. This has a positive impact on the overall quality of the provision.
• Staff know children well. All children are allocated a key person, and the relationships they have with children and their families are good. Staff observe and assess children routinely. Children's next steps in learning are pertinent and well thought out. Staff provide activities that help to build on children's individual learning. However, on occasions, children do not always receive clear messages during times of transition in the daily routine. There is scope to enhance the quality of teaching further to help ensure children fully cooperate and participate in tasks expected, such as moving between spaces or tidying up.
• Parents are very happy and report very positively on the quality of the provision. Staff accommodate parents' wishes and cater for children's needs. They learn about children's backgrounds and home lives. Staff speak in varied languages, which helps increase the accessibility of the nursery. Staff find many ways to celebrate and value a variety of festivals and events. This helps children to learn about their similarities and differences, their local community and the wider world.
• Partnership working is strong. The management team provide children and their families with access to many extra-curricular experiences, including forest school sessions and organised trips to the seaside. The management team also run support groups in the local community, including a breastfeeding clinic. They welcome in a range of visitors, including recently a local doctor and the fire service. They also access lots of professional support, including the local speech and language and inclusion teams. This helps children to build on the life skills they need to prepare for the eventual move on to school.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• embed the curriculum ethos and make the best use of strategies available to fully engage children with SEND throughout the day
• enhance the quality of teaching further, especially at times of transitions in the daily routines, to ensure messages are clearly conveyed and well understood by all children to gain their full cooperation in the tasks expected.