Foresters Den Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive at this inclusive nursery and immediately feel safe as they are welcomed by the warm and nurturing staff who know them so well. New children settle smoothly because of bespoke settling-in processes, where staff gather in-depth knowledge from parents before they start. Staff conscientiously consider this unique information and plan bespoke activities around children's individual interests and stage of development. The management team and staff are dedicated to ensuring a child-centred approach. This means that children are consistently highly motivated, active learners who make significant progress in all areas of their learning and development.

Staff put children's emotional well-being at the heart of everything they do. Children develop their self-esteem and are empowered to try out their own ideas, knowing staff are nearby to offer the right amount of support if needed. Children are polite and extremely well behaved. They have excellent attitudes to learning, and they respect the fair boundaries that staff consistently set for them. Encouraging staff frequently provide meaningful praise for children's efforts and achievements, which encourages children to repeat positive behaviours. Children know what is expected of them and remind their peers to have 'indoor voices' so they do not wake sleeping babies. Individual characters are championed as staff support children to act out their favourite character during story time.

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

• The endless choice of stimulating play experiences and continuous access to outdoor play ensure children are continually engaged in their play. High-quality resources are easily accessible to all children, offering them opportunities to extend their play and learning how they wish.
• During a potion-making activity, children delight in choosing from different materials, such as coloured feathers and glittery soil, to add to their mixture. When children accidentally knock over their potion, staff show genuine care and empathy towards them by acknowledging their feelings. As a result, children develop perseverance and resilience to setbacks as they respond positively and decide to make another one.
• The management team supports staff extremely well, taking an active role in the daily running of the nursery. The team reflects and undertakes training to continuously improve its leadership and management skills. Managers provide training and role model good teaching to staff, to improve successfully on the already high standards of care children receive.
• Younger children benefit from plenty of sensory play. Laughter and excitement echo through the nursery as children have fun. Children make connections in their learning as they start to count in sequence as they pop bubbles and use positional language, such as 'up' and 'down', as the bubbles move freely. Younger children start to say their first words, such as 'pop', as staff repeat these words to them. However, on occasion, staff do not always build on children's curiosity and interests to deepen their knowledge. For example, when children experiment and notice that bubbles do not flow successfully through a cardboard tube, staff do not check children's understanding and provide clear explanations to enhance their learning and thinking skills.
• Support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities is very effective. The management team and staff support parents with any referrals and put plans in place to help close any gaps in learning. Children benefit from weekly trips to the library and small interaction groups, where staff support children's speech and language development and accepting the needs of others through turn-taking games.
• Children demonstrate good levels of independence. They independently wash their hands before eating and practise pouring their drinks at snack time. Staff understand the importance of keeping children safe in the sun and diligently have spare hats for them to wear. However, staff do not consistently teach children to understand about the dangers of playing in the sun, to help them manage their self-care needs, such as putting a hat on themselves, before going outdoors on a warm day.
• Parents applaud the daily face-to-face and online communication they receive about their child's day. They praise the approachable and enthusiastic staff. Parents explain how they feel integral in their child's learning and supporting school readiness.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support children further to explore their own ideas and extend their thinking skills to make even more progress in all areas of learning
• focus on increasing children's knowledge and awareness of staying safe in the sun to help them manage their self-care needs.