Glenfield Nursery School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive at nursery with excitement and enthusiasm. They receive a warm welcome from the friendly and caring staff team. Children benefit from nurturing relationships with their key person and show they feel safe in the nursery. Leaders and staff provide a stimulating learning environment, indoors and outdoors. Children show confidence in making choices about how they want to learn and what they want to play with. They remain in their chosen play for long periods of time.

Staff place a strong focus on children developing a love of stories and books. Even the very youngest children listen attentively to staff as they share well-known stories. Staff skilfully extend children's understanding further. For example, after reading 'Jack and the Beanstalk', children delight in growing their own 'magic beans' in the outdoor area. They use magnifying glasses to examine their beans and share their excitement with others when they discover a woodlouse.

Overall, staff have high expectations for all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Children's behaviour is good and they use good manners. They build friendships with others as they learn how to share and take turns with resources. Staff are good role models for children.

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

• Overall, staff are skilled in supporting children's emerging communication and language skills. They give babies eye contact as they enthusiastically babble. Staff introduce new words into children's vocabulary. For example, as children plant their 'magic beans', staff introduce words, such as 'nutrients, rough' and 'smooth'.
• Staff expertly weave mathematics into planned activities. For example, children concentrate well and competently measure out ingredients to make dough. Staff encourage children to problem solve as they work out why the dough is not sticking together. They embed this learning to ensure children have a good grasp before moving them on.
• Many high-quality interactions take place between staff and children. Children are excited to tell staff about what they have found out and what they are learning. Staff ask thoughtful questions to extend their learning. However, sometimes, staff do not always give children enough time to respond to questions. This means children do not have time to develop their thinking skills and express their own ideas.
• Staff help children to explore some of their own creative ideas. For example, children enjoy using daffodils as a paintbrush. However, on occasion, staff limit children's creativity. For example, they provide yellow paint and green crayons only to draw a daffodil. This reduces opportunities for children to develop their own ideas and decide how they wish to express them.
• Parents comment very positively about the nursery. They say that their children 'cannot wait to attend each day'. Parents speak extremely highly of the staff and appreciate their help and guidance. They say that they often go 'above and beyond' for them in the things they do.
• Children enjoy activities where they learn about good oral health. For example, they explore which foods are good or bad for their teeth. Staff have recently introduced toothbrushing to support this. This is managed hygienically.
• Children value their class pets. They are thrilled to care for their new stick insects. They begin to learn about the natural world, as they discover what the insects eat and how best to care for them. Children enjoy this added responsibility. This encourages consideration and respect for living things.
• The nursery stayed open for most of the COVID-19 pandemic. Staff worked hard to keep in touch with children who were not able to attend the nursery. They provided families with 'picnic packages' and gave them lots of ideas for activities to do at home, to support children's learning.
• The manager supports her staff in their professional development. Staff attend training to improve their performance. For example, they attended a course about using 'loose parts' and 'in the moment planning'. This has resulted in staff reflecting on the provision and making positive changes to their environment.
• Managers prioritise staff's well-being. Staff consistently report feeling well supported. The low staff turnover and staff's length of service demonstrate their commitment to the nursery. This leads to consistency for the families and children who attend.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• give children more time to consider their responses to questions, to enable them to fully develop their communication skills
• enable children to develop and express their own ideas during creative activities.