Greenwood Nursery School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy, safe, and settled at this welcoming nursery. The youngest children receive loving care and affection from their key person. They sit attentively, engage well during rhyme times, and do actions with excitement. Children enjoy stories and develop a love for books.

All children benefit from regular visits to the local community. They learn to value and respect those in need of support as well as 'the people who help us'. Children naturally learn about the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle. For example, they eat a healthy and nutritious diet and enjoy being active outdoors, including in parks and playgrounds.

Pre-school children show a good level of independence, for example, during mealtimes and care routines as well as activities. They are imaginative and creative. Children behave well and show positive attitudes towards learning, as staff have high expectations of them. They develop good communication and language skills. Children gain new knowledge across the year as they engage in a range of activities about 'Planet Earth'.

All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language, make good progress in their development. They show a high level of confidence and develop skills they need for the next stage in learning and the move to school.

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

• The provider worked hard to meet the actions set at the last inspection. Staff received training to help them identify and manage the risks within the environment and improve hygiene to keep children healthy and safe. Staff's practice is fully embedded, and children learn and develop in a safe environment.
• Staff know children well. They regularly observe and assess children's progress and plan for their next steps successfully. Staff provide individual support to children whose progress is less than expected to help them catch up.
• Partnership with parents is strong. Parents feel involved in their children's learning journey. Staff encourage parents to share what children learn at home. This helps to provide continuity in children's learning and development.
• Staff are well qualified and regularly access professional development opportunities. However, some staff are more skilled than others. The current support staff receive from leaders is not fully effective in raising the quality of education to a consistently high level. When more skilled staff are away, children do not receive consistent learning opportunities, they wander around and display fleeting attention.
• Children are curious and enjoy taking part in a range of activities. However, staff do not always plan some activities as well as possible to maximise children's learning and enjoyment. For example, during the trip to a local greengrocer, staff missed opportunities to reinforce children's knowledge and build on what they already know.
• Staff praise children for their achievements and this helps them develop confidence and self-esteem. They listen to children's voices and take on board their suggestions. For example, children practise voting as they choose 'helper of the week', who can carry out special tasks, such as paying for the shopping.
• Children develop good mathematical skills during everyday tasks. For example, they name the shapes they see outdoors and count in sequence as they buy cherries at a local greengrocer.
• Children use their small muscles during a range of activities. For example, as they slice the fruit to blend for their rainbow ice lollies. In addition, they enjoy making marks and eagerly practise writing their name.
• Staff teach children words in a foreign language during play. As a result, children confidently name some fruit in Spanish. Staff help children learn about what makes them and their families unique. For example, they invite parents into the nursery to talk about their family and culture and celebrate each other's differences. Children, including those who speak English as an additional language, develop a sense of themselves.
• Leaders develop links with external professionals to support individual children. In addition, they develop partnerships with staff from other settings that children attend. They share information about children's care and learning effectively to help provide consistency in children's development.
• Leaders arrange extra-curricular activities. These include swimming for the youngest children, tennis, yoga, drama, music, dance, and forest school.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance the planning of focused activities to maximise children's learning
• provide further support for staff who are less skilled, to deliver a consistently high quality of education.