Forget-me-not Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff are kind and support children to settle in well at this lively and inclusive nursery. Staff get to know children well and have good relationships with them. Children show that they feel safe as they separate well from their parents on arrival. They know that they can go to staff for cuddles and reassurance.

Leaders plan a curriculum that is broad, and staff plan meaningful opportunities for children to deepen their knowledge. Staff ignite children's excitement for learning. Children keenly explore across the nursery because staff enthusiastically introduce activities. For example, children quickly gather together to spend time hunting for insects. Later, staff sit with children to support their observation of the different physical features of insects. Staff use these moments well to extend children's knowledge by talking about aspects of the insects' diets and their habitats.

Staff have high expectations for children's early literacy and mathematical development. They patiently teach older children to form and recognise letters and their sounds. Staff help children to understand simple addition and subtraction as they solve problems involving counting.

Overall, children behave well. Any minor disputes between children are short-lived because staff intervene quickly and provide age-appropriate explanations for undesirable behaviour. This helps younger children to play happily. Older children play amicably and seek each other for role play and hide and seek games.

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

• Since the previous inspection, the nursery has undergone a change of ownership. The new manager is a transformational leader. She has implemented changes to the organisation of the environment and staff's duties. The manager has prioritised staff's well-being and professional development. This has led to a more-cohesive team, and helped staff to understand their roles and how to promote children's personal, social and emotional development.
• The manager ensures that there is strong support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff are deployed well so that individual children receive one-to-one support. The manager ensures that children have clear targets, and staff consider the input from external professionals. Therefore, children make good progress towards their learning goals.
• Staff model good speaking, thinking and listening to children. They introduce alternative words as they play with children and explain their thoughts out loud. Older children confidently speak in full sentences, and babies maintain good eye contact during their back-and-forth interactions with staff.
• Staff sing songs to help children to understand the changes in the daily routines.
• Children know what happens next. They happily finish tidying and gather for a short group time before they wash their hands in preparation for lunch. They know when it is time to rest, play and eat.
• Staff promote many aspects of children's independence. Children competently handle cutlery and pour their own water. They readily put on their coats, hats and shoes before going out to play. Despite this, staff are quick to wipe children's faces and noses and discard their tissues when they have colds. Therefore, older children, in particular, do not develop the self-care skills that they are capable of.
• Staff do all they can to promote children's love of outdoor play. They encourage babies' curiosity and independent exploration in the garden. Older babies show remarkable physical agility and stamina as they transport large containers. They develop good core control as they bounce on inflatable toy animals.
• Staff provide a good range of arts and crafts, filled with opportunities for children to deepen their understanding of insects and other topics. However, at times, staff are too directive over how children make their artwork. This restricts children from developing their own creative ideas and interpretations.
• Staff sensitively help children to manage their different feelings and emotions. They routinely check in with children and encourage them to say how they feel. For example, children learn to say when they are happy, upset or sad.
• Parents say that they are very pleased with the quality of education and care that their children receive at the nursery. They feel that staff are devoted and give plenty of attention to their children, which helps to develop their children's good communication, physical abilities and confidence.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff's understanding of effective ways to further promote children's independence so they develop their self-care skills
• increase opportunities for older children to express their ideas and create their own interpretations during art and craft activities.