Flower Pots Day Nursery (Tring)

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff are caring and supportive towards children at this very welcoming nursery. Young children demonstrate the secure bonds they have with their key person as they are quickly comforted when they are upset. Staff are 'tuned in' to babies' and children's needs and respond sensitively to these cues. For example, when babies push their bottles away, staff understand they are indicating they have had enough milk and wish to play. The emotional security means children feel confident and are ready to learn. Staff calmly support older children to acknowledge and name their feelings. They help children to understand how their behaviour has an impact on their friends.

The curriculum to build children's social skills is a positive element in the nursery. Staff promote social skills well at different ages as children grow through the nursery. They help toddlers to learn about taking turns and encourage older children to wait patiently for their friends to talk during group times. Older children demonstrate their sociable sides as they initiate playing hide and seek with one another. Children are developing a love of reading. Staff read favourite books repeatedly and children join in the familiar phrases. Very young babies handle board books with care, turning pages and lifting flaps. Skilful staff effectively encourage older children to expertly recall the details of favourite stories. For example, when exploring oats in a tray, children can remember which character ate whose porridge.

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

• The leadership team has an ambitious vision for the nursery. As the number of staff has increased, leaders have focused staff's professional development on improving their skills. There is regular time taken for staff and managers to reflect on staff practice. This helps to constantly develop staff skills. Staff report they feel their well-being is a high priority. This means they are committed to their work.
• Staff know how children learn and what they need to teach to children. They identify individualised next steps in development to help children make good progress in their learning. They plan a wide variety of experiences with a clear purpose, helping the children to acquire and embed new skills.
• Staff help older children to learn communication skills effectively. They explain to children how to listen 'with their ears' and give them opportunities to listen for the sounds around them and help them learn to pay attention when someone else is speaking. There is some vocabulary used by staff as they talk to young children as they play. For example, they label colours and count blocks accurately. However, when playing with an assortment of resources, staff are not always ambitious in the language they use to help children understand and learn new vocabulary.
• Staff arrange the garden so children of all ages can use their large muscles to build strength and control. Children use brooms to sweep away dirt and stretch their bodies to wash soap off easels. While staff provide a range of experiences outdoors, they do not always engage with children to extend learning to equally good levels as they do when teaching indoors. This means children are not consistently challenged in learning across the day.
• The embedded routines help children develop independence from a young age. Staff use repetition which helps babies understand cues. For example, they all know to sit on the mat for snack time. Staff wait patiently for older children to have a go at putting on their wellington boots and coats before offering help.
• Support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities is strong. Staff liaise with external agencies and families to create individual learning plans. Children access good-quality learning experiences and make clear progress in their development.
• Partnerships with parents are strong. Staff share information about children's development and parents receive ideas about how to help children's learning at home. Parents state that they find the staff caring and they feel included in their child's time at nursery, for instance when children are moving to a new room. The relationships between staff and parents are positive and respectful.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• help staff to increase the range of language-rich experiences for younger children during play
• support staff to maximise the value of the interactions with children outside to the same high level they do indoors.