Flying Start Nursery - Cornwall College

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are excited to come into this bright and airy nursery. They greet friends and staff warmly, and quickly engage in play. Children make good progress in all areas of learning. This is because the curriculum is thoughtfully planned around their interests and needs. Staff have very high expectations for all children and believe in them. Babies are encouraged to take steps independently as they learn to walk. Toddlers learn new words as they feel and touch real vegetables in the home corner. Pre-school children develop their fine motor skills as they use scissors to snip herbs for the potions they create in the garden. Staff expertly support all children. They model new words to the younger children and offer suggestions to extend the play of older children. All children stay very focused in their play. They have a can-do attitude as the knowledgeable staff encourage them with lots of praise.

Children demonstrate that they feel very safe. They are confident as they know that staff truly care for them. Children behave extremely well and calmly follow the routines. They know what is expected of them and are very considerate towards each other. For instance, older children support younger children as they climb on a frame. They clap in delight when they succeed.

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

• Babies develop their senses and learn new words rapidly as they explore lights and sounds in sensory baskets. Toddlers learn to chop fruit for snack independently, which helps to develop their fine motor skills. They also begin to understand risk when they use knives safely. Pre-school children learn mathematical concepts when they play. They discover the difference between heavy and light as they weigh food in the home corner. Children compare lengths. They talk about 'short' and 'long' as they draw chalk lines to represent the length of animals from Africa. However, while leaders and managers aim to promote children's language development, at times staff use slang rather than the correct words.
• Leaders and managers support staff extremely well. They are passionate about ensuring staff are happy and healthy. They know this has a positive impact on the children. Leaders use supervision meetings and mentoring systems effectively to evaluate strengths and areas for growth. They encourage staff to develop and learn, and offer excellent training opportunities. Staff have recently attended a communication and language course. As a result of training, they have adapted their classrooms to include communication-friendly areas to encourage children's speech. They have also introduced resources to support the team with the key vocabulary they want children to learn.
• The nursery staff have excellent partnerships with parents. They have reintroduced stay-and-play sessions. This allows parents to understand how the nursery supports their children's learning. Parents use this knowledge to extend their children's learning at home. They greatly value the communication they receive from their child's key person. Parents are informed about their children's progress and next steps, for example during meetings with their child's key person.
• Children develop an excellent awareness of healthy lifestyles throughout the setting. They move freely, exploring, climbing and balancing in the garden. Children grow vegetables, such as peas, and learn how to care for them. They harvest the vegetables for the nursery cook to use. Children eat healthy, home-cooked lunches together and talk about how the food helps them to grow. Older children brush their teeth after their meals and learn how to care for their teeth effectively.
• Knowledgeable staff carefully observe the children. They use effective assessment and planning to ensure all children make good progress, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The special educational needs coordinator has excellent partnerships with local speech and language therapists and with the local authority. The coordinator works collaboratively with parents and staff to ensure that children with SEND thrive and receive the right support.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• ensure staff consistently use and model correct words when supporting children to develop their language skills further.