Flying Start Day Nursery Hainault

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and settled in this welcoming nursery. They develop strong bonds with the kind and caring staff. This helps children to feel safe and secure. Children behave well. They respond positively to the high expectations and gentle guidance of staff. This supports children to learn the routines and boundaries of the nursery. Older children remember rules and can follow these independently. For example, they share toys and use good manners at mealtimes. Children are learning to respect one another and recognise their individuality. They play nicely together and develop friendships.

Children show positive attitudes to their play and learning. During circle time activities, they listen to staff and join in with discussions about the weather and days of the week. Children participate enthusiastically with the songs and rhymes. They are confident to stand up in front of the group, as they pretend to be currant buns. Children wait patiently for their turn to be chosen and then dance happily with their friends. Children show a keen interest in numbers. They thoroughly enjoy mathematical games, which help them to practise counting, ordering and recognising numerals.

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

• The manager, who also owns the nursery, is reflective and evaluates the setting well. There has been a strong focus on establishing a well-skilled staff team and on including parents in children's learning. Parents describe how kind and affectionate the staff are to their children. They say they know what their children are learning and how they can support this at home.
• Staff have high expectations of what children can achieve. They identify children who need extra help and ensure that they are supported well. Children make good progress and are well prepared when they move on to school. This includes children who receive funding and those children who speak English as an additional language.
• The curriculum is well planned, to support all areas of learning. Staff know children well. They confidently use information from assessments to plan enjoyable activities for children. However, staff sometimes miss spontaneous opportunities to further extend children's learning. For instance, on occasion, they do not consistently introduce different vocabulary or demonstrate new skills.
• The learning environment is inviting and there are lots of exciting toys and resources. Children are eager to learn. They confidently talk to adults and make choices about what they want to do. Children share ideas with each other as they play imaginative games, such as feeding or bathing the dinosaurs.
• Staff support children's literacy skills very effectively. They are skilled at reading to children in ways that engage their interest and spark their imaginations. Children are excited and animated. They talk about what they can see in the pictures and what they think will happen next. Staff provide lots of opportunities for children to practise making marks. For example, children use brushes to paint on surfaces outdoors, they make marks in dough with their fingers and draw using crayons and pencils.
• Children show pleasure in being physically active. They spend lots of time playing in the nursery garden. They run confidently and practise skills, such as climbing, balancing and jumping. Children know that they must wash their hands regularly, such as before eating and after playing outdoors. They are beginning to recognise their own physical needs, such as when they feel thirsty and need to go indoors for a drink.
• Children are motivated to learn and explore. For instance, they were interested to see what happened, as they mixed water into cornflour 'gloop'. They described the new texture as 'squishy' and noticed that it was easier to spoon and pour into containers.
• Staff are professionally qualified. They speak enthusiastically about their roles and say that they feel valued and supported by the manager. Staff are well supervised and meet regularly with the manager to discuss their professional development. They receive guidance and training to help them continuously improve their skills and knowledge.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• help staff to recognise and make effective use of spontaneous opportunities to support children's learning.