Greenwoods Nursery Limited English Bicknor

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

All children, including those who are new to the nursery's 'Birch Class', are happy and settled. They arrive with enthusiasm to a warm welcome from the friendly, caring staff. The provider and staff create a well-resourced, attractive and calm environment. Children enjoy free-play opportunities to explore their playroom. They role play based on first-hand experiences in the home corner, cooking, looking after babies and playing at being hairdressers. They like to involve staff in their play and staff join in happily, offering ideas to extend children's learning. Staff use resources well to promote children's interests and learning. For example, they provide real vegetables in the home corner and outdoors in the play shop. They talk to children about where food grows to increase their understanding of the world.

Staff plan and implement a curriculum that covers all areas of learning successfully. Children make good progress in their learning from their individual starting points. Most children attain confident communication skills and staff provide extra support, such as sign language and pictorial prompts, to aid children who find verbal communication more difficult. Children are well behaved and gain confidence and independence. Staff use circle time each day to remind children of 'the golden rules'. Some children recall behavioural expectations, such as using listening ears, 'kind hands', quiet voices and walking feet indoors. Staff help children to learn to take turns and share, for example using sand timers to support this. They foster children's self-esteem well and encourage children to take pride in their achievements. They promote good manners and help children learn to stay safe.

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

• All children of different ages and stages of development are included and they have many positive interactions with staff. Staff initiate lots of discussion to encourage children to develop their language and thinking. They know instinctively when to play an active role in children's play and when to let them explore freely.
• The leadership team and staff are all enthusiastic in their roles. The provider ensures staff have good access to training and supports them in their professional development effectively. The team has a good oversight of the effectiveness of the curriculum and have identified aspects of the provision that they plan to improve.
• Staff assess children's progress and identify gaps in their learning well. They know each child's family backgrounds, interests and learning needs. They provide a variety of planned activities and experiences to motivate children in their learning. At this time, they focus on the personal, emotional and social development of the youngest children and those who are new to the setting. While doing so, staff sometimes miss opportunities to maximise the learning of the most-able children.
• Staff teach children good hygiene practice and encourage them to do things for themselves. Children learn to dress for outdoor play, pour drinks, wash their hands and wipe their own noses using a mirror to help.
• Children benefit from time spent outdoors. They have plenty of fresh air and exercise. Staff use their forest school training to enhance children's outdoor experiences and understanding of the world. They make good use of the host school's outdoor play spaces and rural setting. Children have plenty of fun during a spontaneous water play activity. They fill jugs and containers from a water butt. They pour water to propel small ducks down a shoot quickly constructed by staff, splash excitedly in puddles they create and giggle as they spray one another with water.
• As children develop their creativity and early writing skills chalking outdoors, staff encourage colour recognition. Staff count and plan some activities to introduce mathematical concepts but these do not always build upon what children already know and can do.
• Staff use children's interests to enhance their learning. For example, children lined up chairs to create a train and went on train journeys to the seaside and other destinations. In response to this, staff took children to a local railway station. Additionally, children's fascination with butterflies led to a trip to a butterfly park.
• Partnerships with parents are strong. Parents praise the support they and their children receive from the staff team when they are new to the setting. They report that staff gather information about their children's needs and abilities and provide regular feedback about children's experiences. Parents value how well staff help children with special educational needs and/or disabilities to gain outside professional support.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• maximise the learning of the most-able children to ensure they are suitably challenged by the planned curriculum
• make greater use of opportunities to increase children's mathematical awareness, during planned activities and children's self-chosen play.