Fingers 'n' Thumbs Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are excited and highly engaged in this nurturing, inspirational nursery. The provider has developed a curriculum that excites children and supports them in making excellent progress.

Children demonstrate excellent imaginative and critical thinking skills. In the outdoor area, they enthusiastically build features of a house using foam bricks, displaying creativity and collaboration. They construct an imaginary television, bedroom and chimney and even conceptualise a cinema. Wearing yellow safety hats, children exhibit teamwork and responsibility, zoning off the building area and instructing bike riders to be cautious. Staff actively engage in children's play, enhancing the experience by taking on roles, such as a news presenter on the children's constructed television. Children maintain their enthusiasm and build balancing beams with wooden blocks, carefully testing and demonstrating their constructions. They display resilience and problem-solving skills when structures fall, considering ways to strengthen their buildings.

The provider is highly attentive to children's well-being. Staff build meaningful relationships with children, which develop their confidence and ability to talk about their experiences. Their interactions are exemplary, fostering children's deepened knowledge about subjects through high-quality conversations. Because of this, children confidently share their observations about insects, and staff enrich these discussions by introducing new terminology. They cultivate children's confidence, enabling them to engage in meaningful discussions and share newfound knowledge with their friends, such as saying, 'Look, this is a stag beetle.'

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

• The provider has meticulously developed an ambitious curriculum that prioritises respectful relationships with children. The provider's approach ensures that children acquire the skills to form friendships confidently and engage in purposeful communication, promoting independence. The provider emphasises the importance of friendships in enhancing overall happiness and safety, fostering an environment where children feel comfortable making requests. This curriculum supports children in building self-belief and taking initiative.
• The provider provides exceptional staff development support, ensuring they have the required educational understanding and skills to teach. Training and ongoing professional development enable staff to set clear behaviour boundaries and support children's learning effectively. The provider's proactive approach ensures that staff are well-equipped to foster children's learning and development, contributing significantly to the setting's overall outstanding quality.
• The provider demonstrates an exceptional understanding of each child's needs, conducting thorough and precise assessments. Staff precisely observe and record children's developmental stages, creating tailored learning plans. For children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), these plans are particularly comprehensive, incorporating targeted challenges and practice opportunities. This approach ensures that all children make excellent progress. Children are highly motivated, actively engaged and enthusiastic about learning.
• The provider seizes every opportunity to enhance children's understanding of their world. For example, in preparation for reading a story about penguins, the provider enriches children's experience by discussing various penguin species and their habitats. Using child-friendly resources, like a globe, they capture children's attention and sustain their interest. Children are deeply engaged, contributing their thoughts and maintaining focus throughout learning activities. This approach broadens their knowledge and motivates children to ask questions and make their observations about cold environments effectively.
• Children show excellent behaviour and understand safety rules well. Staff clearly explain these guidelines, ensuring that children are respectful of others. If children do disrupt others, staff gently remind them why rules are important, and they quickly respond positively. Children collaborate with their friends, decorating and arranging their large cardboard igloo. They proudly share their creations, help tidy up and demonstrate responsibility and teamwork.
• The provider excels in fostering strong partnerships with parents, providing detailed information about children's progress and effective home support strategies. The provider proactively addresses children's care needs, prioritises their well-being and collaborates with parents to implement consistent solutions. This approach enables children to quickly build confidence, form friendships and develop essential independent skills. The setting's commitment to high-quality care and education ensures that children rapidly close gaps in their development. Parents say that children's developmental needs, happiness and enjoyment is at the 'heart of everything' the provider does.