Forest Friends Childcare Redcar LTD

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

All staff are passionate about providing children with meaningful experiences to promote their learning and development. The nursery environment has been developed to provide wonderful opportunities to encourage children to become curious and confident learners. Staff make maximum use of the highly stimulating outdoor space. Children go to the shops and choose the seeds they want to grow in the garden. They create their own bug hotel and learn about bees when a beekeeper comes to the nursery. Staff have painted road markings outdoors and children are reminded to ride their tricycles on the left to avoid collisions. They also know they must stop when their friends are using the zebra crossing. This increases children's awareness of keeping themselves safe. Visits to the local beach and to forest school sessions help children to find out more about their local environment. Managers have also forged strong links within the community. For example, both children and elderly residents benefit from learning together during visits to a care home.

Children behave exceptionally well. Staff are excellent role models. They help children to understand how to play alongside others, taking turns and sharing. Staff have created calm and quiet spaces throughout the nursery to support children who may need help to regulate their behaviour. This includes spending time with the nursery tortoise. Staff working with babies prioritise forming strong attachments with them. This promotes babies' emotional security. There is a strong emphasis on helping children to recognise and understand the different emotions they may experience. This leads on to pre-school children considering the impact of their actions on others. Children regularly benefit from hearing about what makes them so special. They also clearly enjoy celebrating the achievements of others.

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

• The provider and manager have worked tirelessly since the last inspection to develop the nursery. They have created an environment where everyone is valued. Children are at the heart of every decision they make. Staff feel supported and empowered. Room leaders regularly reflect on the practice within each room and consider how it can be developed to enhance children's learning even further.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive exceptional support. The provider has recognised the importance of creating a dedicated SEND team to provide expertise and support to children, parents and the rest of the staff team. Partnership with other agencies is highly effective. Professionals who visit the nursery remark on how inclusive it is, and how much progress children with SEND make.
• Staff are highly skilled at creating varied and interesting ways to promote children's curiosity. They spend time observing children as they play, so they recognise their interests. They identify what they want children to learn next. Then they look for interesting ways to build these opportunities into children's play. For example, when two-year-olds explore different-coloured foam, staff help some children to develop their communication and language skills by joining in songs. Others are encouraged to write numbers in the foam. A focus for another group is taking turns as they work out how to spray the foam themselves. Staff also encourage less confident children to join in with the activity when they feel ready to do so.
• The promotion of children's communication and language skills is a high priority throughout the nursery. Staff provide a clear commentary as children play. This helps introduce children to a rich range of new vocabulary. All children learn sign language, so the youngest children can start to express their preferences. It also supports non-verbal children to be able to communicate with their friends more easily. Staff give children plenty of time to answer questions. They encourage children to use increasingly long sentences in their responses.
• Children thoroughly enjoy the snacks and meals provided. Menus have been developed with input from specialists to ensure that they are healthy and balanced. Mealtimes are extremely sociable. Staff sit with children and talk to them about what they are eating. They encourage children to try different foods. Children develop the skills they need to become increasingly independent. Staff gradually introduce opportunities for children to pour their own drinks, to serve their own food and to clear away their plates. Mirrors in the room help even the youngest children to clean their own faces. Photographic instructions provide a useful reminder to pre-school children to make sure they wash their hands properly.
• All staff recognise the important role they play in keeping children safe. Children are supervised vigilantly. They are also able to start to take their own risks. For example, in the baby room, children learn how to negotiate the slide steps safely. This also helps them to be ready to move to the next room, which is upstairs. Older children learn how to use tools safely if they identify something they want to build.
• Parents and carers recognise how special the nursery is. Communication is highly effective, so parents are well informed about their children's progress. They value the way that the manager and staff offer reassurance and support to them if they face any challenges or need some advice. This is done in a highly sensitive way, with children's needs at the forefront.