Finkley East Anton Nursery and Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children benefit from a warm and nurturing environment. They demonstrate strong bonds with staff and quickly settle into activities alongside their friends. Those children that need it enjoy a healthy breakfast alongside their peers, and delight in talking to staff about healthy food they enjoy at home. Children have access to a wide variety of learning experiences and excitedly make independent decisions in their play.

Children learn about the importance of caring for their natural environment. They select litter for recycling from their role-play beach and discuss the importance of looking after the planet. Children listen to what their friends have to say and play well together. They discuss their recent holidays and show good imagination, as they use natural objects from around the garden to build a car and an aeroplane. Staff praise children for their achievements, which boosts their confidence and self-esteem.

Children have many opportunities to learn about their wider community. For example, they enjoy walks to a nature reserve and to local parks. Children visit a nearby care home for the elderly and engage in activities alongside them, such as singing nursery rhymes. They delight in weekly outings to a local farm, which is highly effective in building on their understanding of the world.

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

• The management team are committed to provide high-quality care and education. They consistently reflect on the nursery and make positive changes that benefit children. Staff receive regular supervision to discuss their professional development and personal well-being. They have access to training to extend their knowledge and speak highly of the support they receive from management.
• The manager uses additional funding appropriately. For instance, alongside her staff team, she identifies and purchases resources to promote children's individual care and learning needs.
• Staff spend time getting to know children well. They gather detailed information on children's abilities when they first start, and continue to assess and share children's ongoing progress with parents. The special educational needs coordinators work closely with staff and other professionals, to ensure that any gaps in children's development are closed swiftly. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language, make good progress.
• Staff use information from observations and assessments to plan interesting learning experiences. They provide daily opportunities to develop children's speaking, language and listening skills. For example, children take part in small language groups. They delight in activities where they dance and sing songs and nursery rhymes. Staff read stories to children and clearly emphasise keywords and phrases. They use sign language, visual cues and engage children in discussion as they play. However, at times, in their enthusiasm, some staff working with younger children are a little directive. They do not always give children time to respond to questions to challenge them further, and to help build on and develop their thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Parents speak positively about the nursery and staff team. They state that they feel well informed about their children's care and learning and what their children's needs to learn next. They value the lending library and the activities staff provide that help them to continue with children's learning at home.
• Children share their home languages and celebrate their diverse festivals and cultures. This helps all children to learn about different country traditions and celebrations beyond their own.
• Children learn to develop healthy lifestyles. For instance, they enjoy healthy snacks, nutritious, well-balanced meals and taking part in physical exercise daily. Children learn how to take safe risks as they make their way over equipment in the soft-play room. They enjoy racing with balancing bicycles and demonstrate good coordination skills.
• Children behave well. They access resources from easily accessible units and tidy away after their play. Staff are good role models. They involve children in risk assessments and the expectations for behaviour at the setting and on outings. This helps to build on children's understanding of personal safety.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• give younger children more time to respond to questions asked to challenge them further and to help build on their thinking and problem-solving skills.