Grace Neighbourhood Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff have warm relationships with children. They teach them to celebrate and share their own unique backgrounds and experiences. For example, staff plan opportunities to celebrate the role models that children have in their lives. This helps children to feel valued and happy. Staff teach children to have high aspirations. For example, they teach children about different jobs that all children can do. Children are excited to learn about different emergency workers. Staff teach children about personal responsibility and safety. Children learn about how to make good choices. This promotes children's positive behaviour.

Staff and leaders have a strong understanding of how to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They work with external partners and parents and carers to create personalised plans to support children's learning. Staff spend time with children on a one-to-one basis to focus on strategies that promote their learning. Children make good progress. Staff consider the needs of disadvantaged children in the nursery. They understand that some children have limited experiences. For example, staff plan opportunities for children to play outside and discover nature. They support children to develop a range of ambitious physical skills and explore new sensory activities. Staff skilfully link children's experiences to their individual interests. Children are inquisitive and excited learners.

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

• Leaders and staff create a curriculum that considers children's interests. They adapt their planning to deepen children's understanding of their favourite topics. This allows children to extend their thinking and understanding of what they find interesting. Children remember what they have learned long term. They can recount their experiences and feel enthusiastic about learning.
• Staff identify children with SEND. They work together to identify the knowledge and skills that groups of children need to learn. Staff work with expert partners to support the learning of children with SEND, where appropriate, such as those with complex medical needs. All children have full access to an education that meets their needs.
• Staff have a strong understanding of the early years curriculum and what they want children to achieve. They build a curriculum that considers these skills. However, staff do not always identify the precise next steps of individual children's development and consider these in their planning. Approaches for sharing these targets with parents are not always consistent. As a result, opportunities for some children to reach the best outcomes are not consistent.
• Staff support children's mathematical development well. For example, they teach children to solve problems and explore numbers in different ways. Children feel excited to share what they know and can do. This helps children to develop their mathematical skills.
• Staff skilfully teach children ambitious new language. They carefully select the vocabulary they want children to learn. For example, children excitedly describe changes to flour and water as they make play dough. Staff narrate what children are doing to give their experiences meaning. Children and babies develop high levels of understanding and fluency.
• Staff support children's early literacy skills. They engage in regular shared reading activities. Staff give children opportunities to re-enact stories and develop key story language. This supports children's future literacy skills well.
• Parent partnerships are strong. Parents of children with SEND say that staff help them work with professionals to support their children's learning. All parents report that staff help children to make progress and learn new skills. For example, parents say that children become sociable and develop communication skills at the nursery.
• Leaders have a policy to ensure that children eat healthily at the nursery. They plan a varied menu which considers children's physical health. However, on occasion, staff do not consistently implement this policy. As a result, not all children understand the importance of a healthy diet and good physical well-being.
• Leaders plan a variety of continuous professional development opportunities for staff. These are closely linked to the needs of children. For example, staff have recently undergone training to carry out small-group work with children, including training around early talk. This helps staff's teaching skills continue to develop over time.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop further how precise next steps are identified for individual children's development and shared to support children's learning
• build on how consistent approaches to healthy eating are applied to all children to promote their understanding of good physical health and well-being.