Fledglings Lodge

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy to say 'goodbye' to their parents at the nursery door. They are met with a warm welcome by the nursery staff. Children are eager to explore in the inclusive environment, which is arranged to promote independence. They choose toys easily and engage well with other children during activities. Children behave well and are polite, kind and caring.

Children have rich learning experiences that help them to develop skills essential for their future. Staff use effective teaching methods, including stories, songs and rhymes, to develop children's early literacy skills. Children sing familiar songs and have access to a good variety of books. They listen with interest to familiar stories and make comments about what they see. For example, they comment that a giraffe has very long legs and a very long neck.

Children have plenty of opportunities to explore the outdoors. They have lots of fun as they play in the well-resourced garden. Children develop an awareness of how to keep themselves safe. For example, they confidently negotiate large apparatus, including tyres and wooden planks. Children manage risks effectively and understand the importance of being careful, such as when climbing up the tyres and down the planks.

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

• Leaders and staff have worked hard to follow the Covid-19 (coronavirus) pandemic lockdowns to help children to feel secure at the nursery. They have robust procedures in place to minimise disruption to children's learning. As a result, children follow nursery routines well and take care of resources. They have good relationships with staff and show respect for each other.
• The curriculum is well designed and ambitious. Staff support children's communication and language development particularly well. Promoting language development is a key focus across the nursery. Staff introduce new vocabulary to children of all ages during focused communication and language activities.
• Partnerships with parents are good. Parents are very happy with the support that children receive and comment on how staff keep them informed about their progress. Parents appreciate the effort that staff have made to maintain good communication and information sharing during the national lockdowns.
• Leaders are proactive at assessing support for children who need it. They work well with other professionals and use additional funding effectively to support individual children's needs. As a result, all children, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), make good progress from their starting points.
• Overall, staff are attentive to children's needs. They assess children effectively to find out what they already know and can do and plan a curriculum to support children's next steps. On the whole, staff interact well with children; however, some staff do not always identify when quieter and less-confident children need more support to help them to fully engage in learning and play.
• Staff make good use of spontaneous opportunities to extend children's learning. This is observed when children find a snail and a spider in the garden. Staff encourage them to compare the characteristics of the two insects to identify the differences. Children observe that the snail has a hard shell and moves by sliding. When children handle the snail, they comment that it tickles the palm of their hands as it moves along. Children also use mathematical vocabulary in their play. For instance, they comment that the snail is much smaller than the spider and, therefore, it must be a baby.
• Staff teach children good habits that contribute to their health. Children role play brushing their teeth, and they wash their hands carefully before eating and after using the bathroom. However, staff do not extend this good practice and fully promote children's understanding of healthy eating when having snacks and meals.
• Leaders regularly evaluate the strengths and areas for improvement in the nursery. This helps them to make continual improvements. Leaders make good use of annual appraisals to monitor staff's ongoing suitability and performance. They encourage their professional development. For example, staff have completed training to help them to support children's communication and language more effectively.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• give quieter and less-confident children the support they need to engage fully in their learning
• extend children's understanding of how healthy eating habits contribute to their overall health.