Flower Pots Day Nursery (Kings Langley)

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Leaders and staff have created an environment where children feel happy, safe, and secure. As they arrive, children are greeted warmly by adults. The well-established key-person approach supports children to separate from carers with ease and quickly settle into their nursery day. Children across the nursery benefit from staff who are nurturing and supportive. This helps children to develop secure attachments and emotional security.

Children show high levels of enjoyment and concentration as they engage in a wide variety of carefully planned experiences. Staff use their knowledge of children to determine what learning should be supported next. The scope and range of activities support the many different learning styes and interests of children. For example, as babies become more physically active, staff introduce soft play activities. This not only promotes children's physical development but helps children to explore risk and develop their own boundaries.

Staff consistently use positive language and role modelling throughout the day. They praise children for remembering the expected behaviours such as 'walking feet'. Children are polite and well mannered. In the younger rooms, staff encourage children to say 'please' and 'thank-you'. Consequently, as children move through the nursery they require very little prompting.

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

• The manager is visionary. She has a clear understanding of the type of nursery she wants to run. She regularly updates her own knowledge. This in turn inspires and supports staff to develop their own practice. Regular supervisions help staff to feel valued and understand the impact of their contributions on children's development. This translates into improved teaching and learning for children.
• Leaders have implemented a curriculum that supports all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, to make progress in their learning and development. Well-considered activities and teaching help children to develop a broad range of skills and knowledge. However, this does not fully support children to learn about people and communities and how people in the community can help them.
• Teaching and learning for children is progressive. Staff use their excellent knowledge of child development, combined with what they know about children, to further extend learning. Regular feedback from parents helps staff to provide well-considered learning experiences.
• Children's communication and language development is supported well. Staff understand how to create language rich environments that support children to broaden their vocabulary and develop speech. For example, they narrate alongside children's play, using new vocabulary. Staff repeat words over days to help children remember them. Stories and songs of the month further strengthen children's understanding of new words. Older children enjoy looking at books both independently and with staff. They remember that an author writes a story, and an illustrator draws the pictures.
• Children are becoming independent learners. They make choices about their play and lead their learning well. Babies explore their environments with curiosity. For example, they become fascinated by the feel and movement of glue on their hands when making 'Santa hats'. Older children concentrate and collaborate with others as they make 'a Santa sleigh' from small bricks.
• Staff support children to manage their personal needs. For example, children use the 'hygiene station' to wipe their own noses. They place tissues in the bin and clean their hands with sanitiser. Older children put on coats and shoes with confidence. Staff sensitively support younger children so that they can manage the task independently in the older rooms.
• Children are learning about what makes them unique. They proudly add their photographs to the board as they arrive. Staff help children to understand about diversity through family photos displayed in the rooms. However, there is limited opportunity for children to develop a positive sense of identity through their environments.
• Leaders work together, using self-evaluation to further secure improvements. Regular feedback is sought from parents and professionals. Parents feel that the nursery supports their children's learning very well and they feel fully informed about their progress. Regular observations and monitoring of children's progress identify any areas of curriculum weakness which can be swiftly improved.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop the curriculum further to help children learn about their community and how people in the community help them
• build upon children's awareness and appreciation of diversity through their environments.