Garden Cottage Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are very happy and engaged. They excitedly enter the nursery for their day ahead. Children are safe and secure. They have the freedom to explore and investigate in their play with many experiences and opportunities to build on their impressive physical skills. For instance, older children develop a keen sense of taking and managing risks as they balance along wooden planks outdoors. Younger children enthusiastically collect blackberries on their walks to eat at snack time. Babies are encouraged to move around to build on their coordination and first steps. Children help to plant and harvest a wide range of vegetables, showing their understanding and empathy of protecting nature in the world around them. For example, they understand the job of a bee is to collect nectar for honey and so the children move carefully around to not disturb them.

Children are kind and behave very well. They show a growing awareness of sharing and playing with others. Children learn about boundaries and expectations through the good role modelling of the staff team. They are supported to help them gain the skills they require for the next stages in their learning and their move on to school. Babies and young children display good bonds with staff to help them to quickly settle into the nursery setting.

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

• The nominated individual is dedicated to the nursery and takes pride in the level of care provided for each child. Staff feel very supported, respected and valued. They have regular supervision meetings to support their own practice. The leadership team plan precisely for professional development opportunities to help staff continuously raise their knowledge and understanding. For example, they are presently engaged in a course from a speech and language specialist, to support children's communication and language further.
• Children explore with early mathematics in their learning. They count bricks as they build towers and transfer water into containers. This helps children to start to learn about weight and measurement. Babies build on their recall skills as they repeat actions, such as pressing coloured buttons and opening flaps on toys. Older children start to add numbers together and are able to put similar objects together using their problem-solving skills.
• Partnerships with parents are a particular strength of the nursery. Every effort is made by the leadership team and staff to fully involve them in all aspects of their child's development and progress. Next steps for their child's learning are shared to help children to continue to learn when at home. Parents believe that children have the 'happiest start in life' from being part of the nursery.
• Children make good progress. The staff team carefully watch their development and plan challenging next steps for children's learning. Children who have specific educational needs and/or disabilities are provided with targeted support to help them to succeed to the best of their ability. Staff work closely with other professionals to provide children with a joined-up approach towards their progress.
• Older children are learning the importance of building on peer friendships and recognising the needs and opinions of others. They are able to share skills they are learning with each other to build on their development. However, the current routines used within the baby room do not fully support babies to consistently gain the skills required for their future learning. For example, the opportunities that staff provide for babies to interact with and observe each other during meal times are limited.
• Staff help to support children to develop a keen awareness of their immediate community and in the similarities and differences between themselves and others. Children read stories that help them to learn about different people and cultures. They take part in activities, such as planting trees, to help them to learn about protecting the environment for their future. This helps children to become more inquisitive about the wider world around them.
• Staff plan activities to support older children to help develop their early literacy skills. For example, children are able to recognise and choose letters contained in their names to make bracelets. However, planning for younger children is not as precise as for the older age groups. For instance, staff do not fully consider how to promote opportunities to develop children's own creativity and imagination.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review mealtime routines for babies, to fully support their developing personal and social skills
• strengthen resources and activities provided for younger children, to further promote and encourage their own creativity and imagination.