Gan Menachem Hendon

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are clearly at the heart of this welcoming nursery. They arrive happily and are greeted warmly by the caring staff. Children build nurturing relationships with their key persons and other staff in their rooms, who understand and meet their individual needs well. This helps them to settle and feel secure. Children demonstrate these close bonds as they chat happily to adults and invite them to join their games. Children of all ages demonstrate a sense of belonging. They move around confidently and make choices about what they want to do. Children enjoy being independent and learn to manage their personal care needs. For example, on a hot day, older children are keen to apply their own sun cream and remember to drink lots of water.

Children respond positively to staff's high expectations. They behave well and look after the toys and resources. Children benefit from a vibrant and interesting learning environment. They are consistently engaged in their play and show positive attitudes towards learning. For example, toddlers are captivated as they examine the texture of wet sand. They discover that they can alter the consistency by adding more water and explore this new texture by squeezing, splashing and pouring it from containers.

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

• Leaders are committed to providing high-quality care and learning for children. They constantly review the provision and successfully implement plans to further improve the service. For example, they have introduced an online app to help exchange information about children's learning with parents. Parents say that the regular photographs and information give them a clear insight into their children's learning.
• Staff use detailed information gathered from parents, alongside their own observations, to engage children and support their learning. They monitor children's progress closely and identify where they may need more support. Staff work alongside parents and other professionals where needed, to help all children reach their full potential. This includes children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, children who receive funding and those who speak English as an additional language.
• Children are keen to learn and make the most of the exciting activities on offer. For example, younger children practise their small-muscle movements and identify colours, as they shape play dough into ice creams for their pretend shop. They develop their imaginations, social and communication skills as they play alongside their friends.
• Staff are enthusiastic in their approach and demonstrate good teaching skills. For instance, they initiate discussions with children and introduce new words as they play. This helps children, including those who speak English as an additional language, to become confident talkers and develop broad vocabularies. However, staff do not always support children's problem-solving skills as well as possible. For example, they step in to complete challenging tasks, rather than encouraging children to have a go.
• Staff value each child's unique characteristics and teach them to respect differences. They help children to learn about British values and traditions, and celebrate their cultural and religious heritages. However, staff could do more to teach children about people and communities that are outside of their own experiences.
• Leaders are passionate about supporting the well-being of the staff, children and families. For example, during the COVID 19 pandemic, they sent care and learning packages to staff and families who were isolating, to help boost their morale and support children's learning.
• Staff successfully support children to understand and express their feelings. For instance, they use stories and discussions to help children recognise emotions and develop empathy. The nursery routine includes quiet periods, where children rest and reflect on how they feel. They learn simple calming techniques, such as deep breathing, which helps them to moderate their emotions and behaviour.
• Parents comment that their children are extremely happy and settled at the nursery. They describe how children have become more confident and independent since joining. Parents value the supportive relationships with leaders and staff. They say that initiatives, such as parent workshops and the nursery library, help them to support children's learning at home.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop staff's understanding of how to support children's problem-solving and critical-thinking skills
• build on the opportunities to broaden children's understanding of people and communities outside of their own experiences.