Friends Private Day Nursery - Ash

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff build extremely strong, trusting relationships with the children and create an enticing, homely and safe environment. The nursery has a highly ambitious and effective curriculum. This helps provide children with the knowledge and skills that they need to help them succeed in their future learning. Staff are skilled in planning creative learning experiences that precisely support children's next stages of development. Children remain highly engaged for significant periods of time in activities that prompt their critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. From a very young age, staff support babies and toddlers to quickly learn to be independent in their feeding and self-care skills. They are taught to share, take turns and interpret facial expressions and emotions to help them form friendships with others. Children thrive in this exceptional nursery.

Children arrive each day with anticipation, enthusiasm, and excitement for the day ahead. Parents and children visit the nursery outside their normal times to support drop-ins and events or simply share news with their key person. One parent expressed the view of others by saying: 'Both my child and I feel like it's an extension of our home and family, we feel very fortunate to have such, kind, considerate and helpful people care for our child'.

Children's behaviour is exemplary. Staff place a strong focus on supporting children's growing understanding of the world around them and helping them to recognise and celebrate similarities and differences. For example, staff set-up self-care stations in each room, that contain books such as 'Ru Paul's Big Dreams' and 'Daddy Do My Hair'. These texts scaffold children's learning as they play with afro combs and lavish hair pieces. In addition, staff teach children to learn about those less fortunate and the work of various charities. They make their own hot chocolate and cupcakes as they experiment with sand and water. Then sell these in the home corner, which is a coffee shop. This reflects one of the many parents' charity coffee and cake sale events that take place, and links learning to their lived experiences.

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

• The provider's curriculum is explicitly understood by staff, and clear to see in action throughout the nursery. Room leaders and staff implement this with precision and passion. Staff are experts in adapting learning experiences to skilfully support each child's next steps. Staff know their key children incredibly well and ensure that each activity has a purpose and goal in mind. Children make exceptional progress in their learning and development, including those who need extra support. Leaders use funding wisely to buy additional resources and provide staff training, and these decisions are taken in consultation with parents.
• Babies are happy, independent and sociable for their young age. They explore their environment and resources with purpose and demonstrate curiosity and resilience. They are inspired to explore the enchanting learning areas staff create. This encourages them to show increasing levels of interest, focus and engagement in their play. For example, babies enjoy sensory tubes with animal shakers which match the characters in 'Dear Zoo' and try hard to repeat the noises and sounds each one makes. These resources are set-up around one of the nurseries core books. This consolidates learning from key texts and helps build vocabulary.
• The quality of teaching is exceptional. Children benefit from a well-sequenced curriculum that is meticulously planned to grow with them as they move through the setting. As babies move through to the toddler room, staff ensure they share any relevant information across the team and work alongside parents and in partnership with other professionals where required. This supports children's seamless transitions throughout the nursery. Staff are committed to ensuring children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive the support they require to help them thrive and access all areas of the provision. For example, specialist therapists visit to advise on recommendations to room layouts, equipment adjustments or to upskill children's new key persons.
• All children adore the risk and challenge offered by accessing the nurseries nature area. Experienced outdoor play leaders teach children how to take care of themselves and the natural world around them. Children learn about the importance of protecting bees and butterflies, as well as the safety rules that need to be followed near a campfire.
• Children have ample opportunity to practise and develop their mathematics and literacy. For example, pre-school children enjoy looking at magazines and bus timetables. They write out bus tickets for their friends to ride the garden play bus. They use the clock to see if it is time for the bus to arrive and leave the station and enjoy counting how much change they need to buy their tickets.
• The nursery's curriculum is enriched through a wide range of well-planned activities and community events. Parents are fully involved in their children's learning. They attend many social events and visit the nursery to share professional skills. The nursery chef has dedicated her expertise and time to help teach children and advise staff around food and nutrition. The nursery continues to successfully achieve awards for gardening and promoting wildlife habitats. This reflects the strong commitment towards promoting children's well-being and developing their sense of social responsibility and respect for the environment and climate.
• Supporting and developing staff is a key priority for leaders, who passionately believe in investing and developing the team to meet the needs of the children that attend. For instance, staff receive specific training to help engage and motivate boys in their learning. Key persons for children with additional speech and language needs attend sign language training. This helps ensure all children are included and can make their wishes, wants and needs known at the setting.