Gingerjolley

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enjoy their time at this warm and welcoming nursery. Children are relaxed and smile when they see familiar staff, and look to them for reassurance and cuddles. Children develop a positive attitude towards learning and become quickly absorbed in their play.

Staff encourage children to develop their independence and sense of responsibility. For example, children learn to put away their own lunch boxes, pour their own drinks and use cutters to prepare fruit. Children behave well and learn the importance of being respectful to others and living things. For instance, children have wonderful opportunities to care for a guinea pig and for minibeasts. Children learn to feed, water and handle them with care. Children behave well and learn to share and take their turn. Children receive praise for their efforts and achievements. This develops their self-esteem and motivates them to continue to persevere at their chosen task.

Children thoroughly enjoy the outside area. They have fun and laugh as they ride bikes and learn to throw and catch rugby balls. Children fully engage themselves in finding worms in the garden and watering plants. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), make good progress from their starting points. Children acquire the skills and attitudes they need for future learning.

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

• A welcoming and friendly atmosphere greets all children and their families. Partnerships with parents are good. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the manager and staff maintained effective ongoing telephone and online contact with the children and their families. Consequently, children's return to the nursery has been successful. Staff have strengthened partnerships with parents by inviting parents to 'stay and play' sessions with the children.
• Parents comment very positively about their children's experiences at the nursery. They value the information that staff share about their children's learning. Parents comment on their children's good progress since attending nursery and the sound contribution staff have made to this.
• Children with (SEND) and those in receipt of additional funding make good progress in their learning. There is a strong commitment to working with external agencies. Staff swiftly act on the advice given to them to provide purposeful activities to progress children's learning. For instance, staff build in activities involving steps and slides to strengthen children's physical skills needed for balance. Occasionally, some staff do not extend the children's vocabulary by adding new words for children to hear as they play.
• Staff monitor children's progress regularly. Recent monitoring found a weakness in children's physical skills, after time away from the nursery due to the COVID- 19 pandemic. Staff skillfully set up physical activities to promote children's large- and small-muscle skills. For example, children have opportunities to dig in soil, mark make in sand and use balance bikes and tricycles to build up key physical skills.
• Children follow daily routines and show good levels of independence. Young children feed themselves independently. Older children pour their drinks and skillfully open their lunch boxes. However, sometimes, the organisation of group sessions, for example during tidy-up and carpet times, means that younger children are not fully engaged as they wait for activities to begin and end.
• Children receive good support as they get ready to move on to the next stages in their lives and school. For instance, staff share detailed reports with parents and meet teachers. This helps children feel very secure and ready for the next stage of their learning.
• Staff speak of the support they receive from management and clearly enjoy their work. They are committed professionals who are passionate about supporting children to have the best possible start. Although staff attend some training, managers do not focus training enough to further enhance professional development.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to enhance the organisation of larger group activities to help enrich younger children's learning opportunities further
• improve arrangements for the monitoring of staff to address development needs and to further enhance the teaching of language to a consistently high standard.