Grass Roots Private Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children engage in purposeful play and are curious, inquisitive learners. They thrive in the nursery through individualised support from highly skilled and experienced staff. Staff have high expectations for what children can achieve and an in-depth knowledge of all children's capabilities. Many of the children enter the setting below expected levels of development and with limited language. Through targeted support, these gaps in learning quickly narrow.

Staff actively encourage children to have a go at challenges and test out their ideas. For example, as children play with water and it stops pouring, staff ask them what they think has happened and how they can overcome this difficulty. Children understand how they need to use the water pump to get it started again and work as a team to make this happen. High-quality interactions from staff successfully build children's confidence and self-esteem.

Staff deployment is effective in ensuring children are safely supervised. Children behave well. They are supported to learn how to manage their emotions and develop an understanding of how behaviour impacts on others.

Following time off during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, staff were quick to shape the curriculum accordingly for children's needs. They prioritised learning for children's communication, language and emotional well-being. Staff planned activities that encouraged children to talk about their feelings. This approach helped to build children's confidence, speaking and listening skills. To ease anxiety, a video was also made to show children, families and staff how things would work when they returned. The inclusion of an 'empathy dog' also helped to ease the anxieties of children who were apprehensive about returning.

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

• Leaders ensure that the curriculum continues to challenge all children, builds on existing skills and widens their experience. Children go to the theatre, on woodland walks, visit the nursery allotment and learn about places in their local area. The impact of the curriculum is clear to see as is the high-quality education. All staff know the children and their families exceptionally well. Staff offer individualised support to every child, providing them with the best possible start in life and enabling them to achieve to their full potential. Staff achieve an excellent balance between allowing children to follow their interests and incorporating the skills they intend for them to learn and practice. For example, children learn how to balance as they walk along a beam, trying not to fall into the 'larva pit', and count 15 jumps on the bridge.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities get the help and support they need through timely intervention and because staff get professional support quickly. Careful consideration is given to how any additional funding is spent and to where it has the greatest impact to improve outcomes for children. For instance, funding is used to get additional staff to work specifically on a one- to-one basis with children. It is also used for staff training and to purchase resources to support children's individual learning needs.
• Staff are exceptionally skilled and give high priority to children's language and communication development. They engage in ongoing dialogue with children during activities and they use lots of repetition and well-timed questions to promote language. Staff introduce children to new words such as 'infinity' and talk about their meaning in context. Children work collaboratively and can be regularly heard talking through what they are doing and what they plan to do next. For example, they talk of making paint by crushing chalks with a potato masher and adding water.
• Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders have done everything they can to support children and families. They helped other nurseries in the area by accepting their children when they were unable to open. Leaders put in place 'live learning' to ensure any children who were at home could still join in experiences with their friends. Children listened to stories and kept in touch with their key person through weekly face-to-face video calls. Doorstep visits enabled managers to check with families to see if there was any further support they needed. Learning resource packs were also delivered during these visits.
• Staff invest heavily in their partnerships with parents. They work closely with them from the start, finding out about children's starting points to effectively plan their next steps in learning. Parents report how exceptionally well informed they are about their children's learning, skills and next steps. Parents are fully involved and consulted on their child's learning journey and any transition arrangements. Detailed information is regularly shared with parents both verbally and online, and suggestions made for how they can support children's learning at home.
• Leaders recognise the importance of staff well-being. They place high priority on ensuring staff are listened to and their input valued. Leaders ensure there is time built in for all staff to be able to reflect on their practice. Staff are actively encouraged and supported to attend training to build on their skills and knowledge. This helps to drive improvement and further improve outcomes for children.