Forest Hall Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thrive in this friendly and caring nursery, where parents say they become part of 'one large family'. Children are happy and secure. For example, older children confidently recall past events with a member of staff. Babies demonstrate they are happy as they fall asleep in their key person's arms. Older children demonstrate a good awareness of how they can keep themselves safe. For example, they make cheese sandwiches and use tools, such as knives and graters, safely and with control. Children behave well. Staff support children well to listen to their friends and take turns with the toys. During the inspection, two-year-old children respond well when staff remind them to use 'kind hands'. They begin to learn that other children can use the same toys as them. Older children quickly remember to stop and listen to their friends when staff remind them.

Overall, staff have high expectations for what they want children to achieve. Two-year-old children thoroughly enjoy listening to stories. Older children listen to stories and comment on what is happening. They demonstrate good mathematics skills as they count accurately and begin to recognise numbers.

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

• Staff have a very good relationship with parents. Parents comment that they know what their children have been doing and how they can support them further. They appreciate the 'family atmosphere' of the nursery, where staff 'care for children as if they were their own'.
• Staff plan a range of motivational activities to help children to learn. For example, babies enjoy exploring shredded paper. Two-year old children thoroughly enjoy exploring compost and water. Children in pre-school concentrate intently as they paint reflections of sunflowers onto a mirror. Children demonstrate high levels of engagement, overall.
• Staff in the pre-school have ambitious plans for what they want children to learn. However, sometimes, staff focus too much on helping children to develop skills they need for school before they are developmentally ready. For example, some children lose interest in a letter bingo game because they are unable to recognise the letters or identify things that start with that sound. They, occasionally, lose concentration because activities are too hard for them.
• Babies are well supported and the atmosphere in the room is calm and tranquil. Staff think carefully about how they can help babies develop key skills, such as communication. They sing and talk to babies constantly, helping to develop their communication skills. Staff are vigilant and respond quickly when babies show signs that they are tired.
• Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities well. They work with a range of professionals, such as health visitors or speech and language therapists, to understand how they can support children effectively. They act on the advice given. Staff use funding well to support children. An example of this is when staff buy children's favourite books to support them further. This supports children to make good progress.
• Staff do not think sufficiently about the sequence in which children develop new skills. For example, at mealtimes, some younger children do not have their food cut up for them and older children do. This means younger children sometimes resort to using their fingers to eat food, such as Yorkshire pudding, instead of consistently learning to use cutlery.
• Children make very good progress in their communication skills. Staff adapt their language when talking to different children and have clear targets for what they want children to achieve. They use good questioning to encourage children to express their thoughts and ideas. This helps children to become confident communicators.
• Staff support children well to talk about their emotions. Older children thoroughly enjoy linking how they are feeling to different colours. They engage well as they make their own 'emotion potions'. They discuss how they are feeling and choose colour potions to represent their feelings.
• The manager and deputy review and monitor the quality of education. They talk to staff and observe their teaching. However, this is not yet effective in identifying minor inconsistencies in practice. For example, they have not identified that some activities do not support older children's age or stage of development.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen monitoring and identify and address minor inconsistencies in staff's practice
• ensure all activities in the pre-school are pitched at the right level to help children to make the best possible progress
• consider more carefully the order in which children learn new skills to ensure their learning is sequenced effectively throughout the nursery.