First Class Nursery (Huddersfield) Limited

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive with a smile, looking forward to the day ahead. They complete self-registration, hang their own shoes and coat up and confidently explore their environment. Practitioners are extremely passionate, caring and very enthusiastic. They get to know all children very well. As result, children form strong attachments with practitioners and are extremely happy.

Practitioners have high expectations for children's behaviour. Even the youngest children rise to these expectations and flourish. Familiar routines, clear language and plenty of praise and encouragement help all children to learn how to behave very well. All children participate in fire safety drills. They demonstrate their knowledge on fire safety procedures. Older children help young children to line up. They learn how to exit the building safely. Children quickly copy the good and friendly behaviours that practitioners model for them and show kindness towards their peers.

Children are deeply engrossed in an ambitious curriculum throughout the day. Practitioners help children to develop their imaginative play through bringing stories to life. Children decorate cardboard boxes and create fairy lands. Many children revel in the exciting outdoor spaces. Younger children eagerly try to dress themselves, ready to investigate nature. They learn to keep themselves safe when navigating their way through long grass, weeds and thistles. Children are fascinated by minibeasts and their natural habitats. Practitioners take children to visit the local market and use money to purchase vegetables. They teach children how to make soup. All children are consistently challenged in their learning.

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

• Practitioners provide a curriculum for children that promotes an extremely positive impact of themselves. Children regularly share photos of themselves and their families. Practitioners talk about what makes children unique and celebrate this. They teach them about similarities and differences in a positive way. Practitioners use positive statements about children at every opportunity. Children develop their own confident identity.
• Children have exciting opportunities to strengthen their muscles. Practitioners provide lots of resources for babies to grasp, hold and explore, such as paint, spoons, brushes, and sand. Babies show advanced levels of independence as they pull themselves to standing and reach for objects. Older children learn to climb steps. Practitioners teach them how to balance and give them support to go higher. Children nervously walk across climbing equipment holding their key person's hand. Practitioners encourage children to repeat this activity until they develop the confidence to complete it independently. Children of all ages develop resilience and learn about risk.
• Children engage in activities through active exploration. Practitioners encourage children to use all their senses. Babies use their hands and feet to explore ice and water. Practitioners teach them new words in context, such as 'slippy', 'frozen' and 'melting'. They extend children's play by adding herbs and flower petals. Children concentrate on the different smells. They are deeply engaged and concentrate for long periods.
• Practitioners are skilled in joining in with children's play to develop their communication and language skills. Older children explore sand, water, seaweed and pebbles. Practitioners give children time to experiment with materials, think, talk and ask questions. Children confidently recall their learning and learn new language.
• Practitioners plan children's experiences thoroughly. For instance, babies match animals with picture cards. Practitioners introduce them to numbers when they throw and count coloured beanbags. Children engage in finger gym activities. This helps to strengthen their hands and arms, to develop their small muscles. Practitioners teach children early literacy for when they make their move on to school. They teach older children about simple fractions when they cut pizza in halves. All children make significant progress in all areas of development.
• Practitioners are vigilant to identify children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They complete thorough assessments and devise individual plans to support children. Practitioners complete appropriate training to ensure that they can meet all children's individual health needs. The provider uses additional funding well, such as to take children on trips to museums. This enables all children to access the curriculum fully.
• The provider has worked extremely hard to engage and work with parents and carers. They gain parental feedback consistently and value parents' views. As a result, family learning events take place through the year. These events enable families to explore new skills, engage in their children's education and enhance their own learning. Parents report that communication sharing and support is excellent.
• Leadership is extremely strong. Practitioners consistently report high levels of support for their well-being. There is also effective engagement with practitioners through team meetings and supervision sessions. Strong shared values between managers and practitioners mean that children receive the highest quality of education.