Growing Beans Nursery -Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy, safe and active learners. Staff provide them with a stimulating curriculum and activities that enable them to build on and enhance their independence. Children gain key skills in preparation for starting school. For example, they self-register on arrival, serve their meals and scrape their plates after eating. Children persevere at tasks such as putting on their coats when getting ready for outdoor play. They gain a sense of pride in what they can do for themselves and staff praise them for their achievements. Children's behaviour is good. Staff have high expectations of them as they are expected to take turns, share resources and be respectful of each other.

Staff foster children's literacy skills effectively. Children have ample opportunities to practise their early writing skills at the writing station. Older, more-able children can recognise letters and link them to the sound they create. They confidently use their fingers to write their names in the sand. The staff's book loan system encourages children and their families to develop a love of books and reading at home. Children enjoy being physically active in the garden. They have tremendous fun at the mud kitchen as they load the wheelbarrows with soil. They develop balance and co-ordination as they play football.

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

• There is an effective key-person system is in place. Staff work closely with parents to ensure children's smooth transition into the pre-school. Key information about children's allergies, abilities and interests are shared fully. Staff monitor children's development successfully to ensure they make good progress in relation to their starting points.
• Children's knowledge of mathematical concepts is developing effectively. They learn about volume and capacity as they empty and fill cylinders and jugs. They use their imagination as they comment they are making a, 'fairy potion' that will create wings. Children's fine motor skills are enhanced as they access pipettes during water play to build their hand strength and coordination.
• There are effective partnerships between parents and staff. Parents are encouraged to be involved in their children's progress. They are regularly invited to support children's learning at home and attend parents' meetings. This helps to promote consistency in children's learning.
• Children are supported to develop a positive sense of self and their uniqueness. For instance, they celebrate a variety of festivals from around the world including Chinese New Year, Christmas and Easter. Parents and children are encouraged to share photos of things they do at home and to bring in items for 'show and tell' time. Children are in awe as they get to see the sparkly sari that their friend wore during Diwali.
• Staff encourage children to take part in effective hygiene routines as they access the bathroom to clean their hands before meals. Children have access to healthy menus and enjoy doing star jump exercises with the staff in the garden. However, they are not consistently supported to develop an understanding of the impact of a healthy lifestyle on their bodies.
• Children are becoming skilful, confident communicators. They use words such as 'astonished', 'happy', 'angry' and 'excited' to express how they are feeling at circle time. Staff introduce new words such as 'incredible' and 'stem' during activities. They effectively use questioning during play to increase children's thinking skills and promote their language development. This supports all children, including those who speak English as an additional language to develop well.
• The manager implements a regular programme of supervision meetings with her staff team. Staff complete mandatory training such as first aid and child protection courses to ensure the well-being of children. However, staff complete limited training to further enhance the quality of teaching.
• The management team are aware of the role of self-evaluation. The new manager has started to implement plans to make further improvements to the quality of experiences for children. For example, the implementation of the system for rolling snack allows children to continue playing and obtain a snack when they are ready. Parents comment that they appreciate the changes the manager has made and the visible impact has had on the quality of care and learning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to extend children's knowledge of a healthy lifestyle and why it is important for their bodies
• focus professional development opportunities more precisely on supporting staff to raise the quality of their teaching to the highest level.