Goldhanger Community Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Entry arrangements put in place since the beginning of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic mean that parents leave and collect their children from the main nursery door. As parents arrive, their children beam with excitement. They cannot wait to begin their nursery day. The provider who is also the manager, or her deputy manager, greet the children warmly and with enthusiasm. Children are made to feel valued and welcome from the very start of their day. They skip confidently into their nursery rooms to join their key person and friends. Children are highly respectful of each other. They are exceptionally motivated and keen to participate. They take great pride in helping their friends and speak to each other in a kind and caring manner.

Children become fully engaged in imaginative play, expertly supported by skilful staff. For example, they pretend to travel in the boat in the garden to a far-off land to find treasure, following their hand-made map. Staff use language to extend their thinking when they talk about the 'destination'. Children think critically to solve problems and tell staff that if they follow a particular direction, they will come across a 'dragon', so it would be best to take another door. They row really hard to make sure they get back to dry land before the storm arrives.

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

• The manager and deputy form a strong and cohesive management team, who support a large group of staff. The management team have high expectations of the staff to deliver an ambitious curriculum based on children's interests and their knowledge of each individual child. They include a mix of new and experienced staff. The high-quality teaching seen in some staff is not yet consistently strong across the whole team.
• Parents are extremely happy with their children's care and learning. Many comment on the expert knowledge of the manager, who filled them with confidence from a very early stage. They particularly like the superb meals their children enjoy each day and the very good communication between the nursery and home. In written testimonials they share that staff have taken time to learn their children's home languages to the extent that children say that the staff speak 'their language'. Parents also report that their child tells them that they 'dream of the nursery'.
• Children are extremely excited and keen learners. They articulate their feelings well. Staff support them to talk about how they feel in large and smaller groups. They provide activities to help any children struggling to express their emotions in a consistently positive way.
• Babies have close and caring relationships with their key person. They are provided with exciting spaces to play, such as the well-equipped sensory room.
• Children interact with the specialist toys, lights and equipment, supported effectively by the baby room staff.
• Children make good progress from their starting points. Staff have high expectations of them based on their thorough knowledge of each child's likes and interests. They are knowledgeable about children's home lives and the experiences they share with their family.
• The management team have robust procedures for managing children's dietary and medical needs. They work with a number of different agencies to support children's health and well-being.
• Children enjoy participating in art and creative activities. They are well supported by staff who have a passion for art therapy. Children paint self-portraits on large card circles. They chat confidently about their faces and how they see themselves in the mirror. Staff encourage children to discuss their similarities and differences.
• Children are very independent. Older children serve their own meals from a 'buffet style' arrangement. This helps them to prepare for mealtimes when they start school in September.
• While children are introduced to a wide range of exciting learning opportunities within the nursery and the nursery garden. They have fewer experiences that enable them to explore a greater understanding of people, families and communities beyond their own.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• extend learning opportunities that promote an understanding of people, families and communities beyond the children's own
• embed good quality teaching so that it is consistent across the staff team.