Gilwell Hill Children's Day Nursery And Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy, confident learners, who thrive in this nurturing nursery. They form secure relationships with staff and build positive friendships with their peers, which helps develop their emotional well-being and helps them to feel safe and valued. Staff deliver an ambitious and sequenced curriculum that fully supports children's learning and development. Children demonstrate high levels of confidence and engagement as they explore the environment and make independent choices in their play. Staff provide engaging activities, such as colour mixing and investigating light and shadow using a projector, which captures children's natural curiosity and deepens their understanding of scientific concepts. Children are active learners, who are confident to experiment and make predictions.

Independence is woven into everyday routines. Children self-serve meals, pour drinks, and carry out self-care skills, such as handwashing, with confidence. Staff encourage them to prepare their own healthy snacks, peeling bananas and using knives to cut vegetables. Life skills are taught progressively and adapted to suit children's ages and development. Children have a strong sense of belonging in the nursery. They explore family books and use a globe to find the countries their families are from. Children feel proud of who they are and show respect for one another as they learn about their peers' family heritage.

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

• Staff place a strong focus on communication and language development. They use age-appropriate language with all children, implementing strategies, such as pausing, commenting and questioning, to help children build on their language. Staff introduce new words, such as 'carnation' and 'stem', as children create pictures with real flowers. Children make good progress with their language skills before starting school.
• Children's physical development is exceptionally well supported. Younger children build on their core muscles as they navigate climbing frames in the outside area. A wide range of extra-curricular activities, including basketball and yoga, enhance the core curriculum and provide children with opportunities to develop coordination and balance.
• Routines are well embedded in the nursery, helping children to understand what to expect. Mealtimes are social occasions, where children and babies relish the freshly made meals and snacks. Staff make the most of the opportunity to interact with older children, who enjoy talking about their day. However, some mealtimes for toddlers are less well organised, which means they do not consistently benefit from the same social experiences to fully support their learning.
• The nursery has extensive community links and provides a range of extracurricular opportunities. Children make regular visits to local amenities, such as the library and post office, as well as engaging outings to the forest and visits to the local care home. These opportunities support children's confidence, sense of community and understanding of the world.
• A strong culture of reading is embedded throughout the nursery. Cosy and inviting reading areas are available in every room, and children access books independently with great enjoyment. Focus books are revisited regularly, helping children to understand stories and develop a love for books. These positive early experiences lay the foundations for strong early literacy skills.
• Partnerships with parents are strong and highly valued by families. They speak extremely positively about the quality of care and education their children receive. Parents are kept up to date with their child's learning through reports and consultations. A range of workshops equip parents with practical strategies to support learning at home. Parents are welcomed into the nursery to read stories and attend regular events, enabling them to become fully immersed in nursery life.
• Mathematical learning is strongly supported. Staff plan meaningful opportunities for children to explore early maths concepts through real-life experiences. For example, children experiment with large scales and jars of rice, exploring which is heavier. Staff use language such as 'half full' and encourage children to estimate which side will be heavier.
• Staff supervision and professional development are well embedded. Leaders have effective systems in place to monitor staff performance through peer observations, and supervisions. Feedback is given promptly, and staff strengths are regularly acknowledged. Leaders demonstrate a strong understanding of the team's needs, offering on-the-spot coaching and a wide range of professional development opportunities to enhance practice to ensure that every child has a good start to their education.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review the organisation of mealtimes for toddlers to better support their learning and evaluate the impact of any changes on the quality of children's experiences.