Gardners Lane Children Centre Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children settle well in this welcoming nursery. They are happy and show good attitudes to learning. Children enjoy a range of activities and experiences that staff plan for them. For example, they care for live caterpillars, which they watch in wonder as they anticipate how they will change and eventually transform into butterflies. Staff get to know their key children well and use their knowledge of the children to ensure that their individual interests and next steps in learning are reflected in what they offer. Children make good progress in their learning and development during their time at the nursery, including those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), those who speak English as an additional language, and those in receipt of additional funding.

Children have good opportunities to be physically active. They have access to a wide range of outdoor spaces that staff utilise well to develop children's physical skills and promote healthy lifestyles. Staff are kind and caring towards children. They prioritise children's well-being and children build positive relationships with staff. Children build positive friendships and socialise well with one another. They learn to take turns and play collaboratively with their peers. They behave well and staff have high expectations for children's behaviour.

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

• Risk assessment is effective. Action taken to improve risk assessment and the supervision of children, following a recent incident where a child left the nursery unsupervised for a short period, has been rapid and effective. The security of the doors and gates and the procedures for the drop off and collection of children have improved.
• Staff provide children with a broad curriculum that is focused on the children and what they need to learn. Staff plan stimulating learning activities for children and children show good levels of engagement in their play. For example, young children enjoy playing with dough, which they manipulate and explore with their hands and a range of tools. Older children learn about how things grow and predict what may happen when they plant bean seeds.
• There is a strong emphasis across the nursery on children's communication and language development. Staff model language, ask questions and teach new words to increase children's vocabulary. They engage children in interesting conversations that capture children's interests. For example, at snack time as children enjoy eating banana, staff talk to them about their own families who live in other parts of the world where they have bananas growing on trees in their gardens. This leads into a rich back-and-forth conversation with children.
• Staff share regular updates with parents about their children's day and experiences at the nursery, both verbally in person at handover and through an app. Communication and relationships with parents are good. There are some missed opportunities by staff to provide parents with simple and effective ways in which they can continue their child's learning at home to help children make even better progress.
• Staff model mathematical language well and take opportunities as they arise to provide opportunities in play for counting. Children develop a good awareness of number.
• Children learn about feelings and emotions. Staff recognise that some children struggle to regulate their emotions and use specific teaching techniques to help support children to manage their feelings positively and independently.
• Staff complete mandatory training such as first-aid and child protection courses to ensure the well-being of children. They have a good knowledge of child protection matters and know how to raise concerns about the welfare of a child in their care.
• Staff know children and their families well. They use children's home languages to aid their learning of the English language and teach children about cultural festivals, such as Eid. However, staff do not always maximise opportunities to celebrate and promote the cultures of children who attend to further extend children's understanding of diversity.
• Staff work closely with other professionals to support all children, including those with SEND. Self-evaluation is effective. Leaders have a clear idea of what they do well and what they could do better and continually strive to improve. Leaders make good use of feedback from parents and other professionals to help identify areas for development and target professional development and training opportunities for staff.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• provide tips and suggestions for parents of ways in which they can support their children's learning at home
• provide further opportunities to promote home cultures and backgrounds of children and their families to help children learn about similarities and differences between people and communities beyond their own.