Goodwood Lodge Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The nursery is a calm and happy place. Children show that they feel safe in the company of the encouraging, friendly team. Staff use ordinary things inventively. For example, two-year-old children find photocopies of bears on a table. Staff talk with them about the bears' feelings and welfare and children busily apply first-aid plasters to the pictures. Children concentrate hard. They practise a pincer grip to separate and peel away the paper. Staff support children to name the parts of the bear that are injured. This extends their vocabulary and conversation skills. Children express concern about the bear and learn to be caring. They giggle with mischief when a plaster covers the bear's mouth and he cannot talk.

Managers make the teaching of consistent routines a priority across the nursery. This promotes children's independence and they know the expectations for their behaviour. In the baby room, children learn to carry their own wellies to the shelf, ready for when they need them again. By the time children reach pre-school age, they are able to dress themselves for outdoor play. This prepares children well for starting school. Parents and carers say that staff offer them advice and ideas for activities that help them to continue children's learning at home.

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

• Managers' strong understanding of how children learn is evident throughout the curriculum. They trust children to 'power' their own learning through exploration and creative play. Staff join in to extend children's knowledge and thinking. They plan adult-led activities that promote children's readiness to listen, learn and respond as members of a group.
• Everyone completes training and shares new knowledge with the team. For example, a manager attended training about enhancing outdoor learning. Staff now teach children to look really carefully at different plants and to describe what is the same and different about them. However, sometimes, managers do not focus closely enough on the detail of staff's interactions with children. As a result, inconsistencies in practice are not addressed effectively enough in the professional development programme.
• The well-established routines and staff's masterly use of resources help to promote children's confidence. At group time, two-year-old children sit expectantly on well-spaced floor cushions. Younger and less confident children know that their space will be respected. They begin to join in with the words and actions of the songs. The 'song spoons' are popular and familiar. Using them enables every child to communicate their choice of song.
• Books are used effectively in the well-sequenced curriculum. Babies hear words that match pictures. This teaches them lots of vocabulary, ready for when they begin to talk. Two-year-old children sit companionably in the book corner. They show concentration and enjoyment as they turn the pages and tell the story. Stories promote pre-school children's imagination and enrich their role play. Furthermore, they learn that non-fiction texts help them to find things out.
• Staff assess children's progress and know what children need to learn next. For example, staff skilfully help pre-school children to build step by step on their knowledge of numbers and counting. However, although managers unfailingly share concerns about children's progress with parents, there are occasions when they do not take every possible step to obtain specialist advice and support. This hinders the really precise teaching that promotes children's best progress.
• Staff take time to get to know children and parents before children begin to attend the nursery. This helps babies to develop secure attachments to staff and to settle quickly. Staff and parents share information about babies' care routines. For example, staff know how much sleep babies had overnight. This helps them to tailor babies' care to their mood and to promote their physical well-being.
• Managers train staff to identify and minimise risks to children's health and safety. For example, staff are alert to choking hazards and remove them. The nursery cook ensures that meals are prepared separately for children who have allergies to particular foods. This helps to ensure that children are catered for safely. Managers keep up to date with the local procedures for child protection. Staff know what to do if they have concerns about children's well-being or welfare.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• measure the quality of practice more accurately, so that the programme for professional development promotes even better outcomes for children
• make even better use of information gained from the assessment of children's progress, to help ensure that children get the very best support and teaching that prepares them for their move to school.