FLYING HIGH NURSERY

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children benefit from a wealth of experiences to immerse themselves in. The environment indoors and outdoors offers engaging activities and children independently explore and are inquisitive. They have the time and space they need to discover, test and revisit their ideas. The pre-school children's continued interest in a story about a stick man results in children using sticks in a variety of ways. For example, children use twigs to make their stick families, collect branches and float them in water and use various twigs in the dough. Children in the toddler room are equally as inspired by the role-play area. For example, children use crockery, teabags, coffee beans, water and milk as they pretend to visit the tearooms. Staff use these experiences well to build on what children already know and to introduce new ideas, vocabulary and concepts.

Babies benefit from a safe space where they can sleep, rest, sit, crawl and engage is sensory play, in line with their individual routines and needs. All children, including those who speak English as an additional language, show a keen interest in books and singing. Children behave extremely well and, on occasions, children in the pre-school room show excellent levels of listening and attention.

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

• The curriculum offers easily accessible, well organised and appealing resources that quickly capture children's curiosity. The educational programme also offers rich first-hand experiences. For example, children visit local places of interest, various country parks and have opportunities to use the public transport. The leadership team know about the health and education issues within the local community. They work closely with the manager to ensure staff place a sharp focus on the essential knowledge children need to help them succeed.
• Staff show a strong commitment to valuing and respecting the diversity of children and their families. For example, each child benefits from a home visit before they start at the nursery to help staff understand their home circumstances and needs. This helps staff acknowledge the unique situations that families find themselves in and they offer good care, support and guidance. Parents speak highly of the staff and the progress their children make.
• Staff work closely with parents to identify any children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who may benefit from additional support. There are secure systems in place to ensure referrals to any external agencies and professionals are made swiftly, to obtain the support and intervention needed. Staff tailor the environment and activities to ensure these children benefit from what is on offer and make progress overtime.
• Staff in the pre-school room place a strong focus on school readiness and support children's literacy and mathematical development very well. For example, children recognise numbers, calculate and use mathematical language as they follow a recipe card when making the play dough. Staff in the toddler room count with children and help them recognise colours. However, staff do not often enough incorporate inspiring mathematical opportunities for the most-able children to help further extend their learning.
• The leadership and management team clearly value the importance of continuous development and staff benefit from staff supervision sessions and targeted training. Staff speak highly of the support they receive and the good focus placed on their well-being. The manager regularly monitors the quality of teaching to ensure it is consistently good across the nursery.
• Children with speech and language delay and those who speak English as an additional language are supported through targeted intervention. Staff place a clear focus on supporting children's communication and language skills during their interactions. However, on occasions during group activities, staff focus on the most vocal children and do not encourage those children who are reluctant to speak.
• The nursery is kept clean and hygienic and there are effective systems in place to prevent the spread of infection. Staff work with parents and children to teach them about the benefits of a healthy diet and the importance of exercise and cleaning their teeth.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop the strategies in place to encourage those children who are more reluctant to speak during group activities to further develop their speaking skills
• support staff in the toddler room to gain a deeper understanding of how to provide inspiring mathematical experiences for those children who are ready to further challenge their learning.