Growing Stars Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive eagerly at the nursery and they receive a warm welcome. They are confident, settle quickly and begin to explore a wide range of activities and toys. The key-person system is effective, which ensures that children and staff have good, close relationships. Children know who to go to if they are feeling sad or need support. This helps children to be happy and secure to learn.

Staff have a good knowledge of children's needs and praise children throughout the day. This supports children's confidence and self-esteem. Children demonstrate good behaviour and take turns in their play. There are lots of opportunities for children to develop their independence skills. For example, they put their own coats and shoes on to go into the garden. These opportunities help children's development, for example in readiness for school.

The new room layout encourages toddlers to explore books independently. They point to the pictures and use simple words to share what they see with staff. The oldest children talk about what is happening in the stories that they look at during group time. Staff ask them relevant questions to check their understanding. Children's communication and language skills are also enhanced as they learn new words, such as 'bouncy', 'stretchy' and 'sparkly' when participating in 'bucket-time' activities. Children of all ages enjoy being active and benefit from playing in the well-resourced outdoor areas each day.

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

• Parents do not currently enter the nursery, due to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. However, the manager and staff team ensure that they still keep parents fully informed. They provide parents with regular updates about their children's day and well-being via an online app and face-to-face communication. Furthermore, staff share weekly planning with parents. This helps parents to talk to their children about what they are doing at nursery and extend their learning at home.
• Staff know the skills and knowledge that they expect children to learn and develop over time. They regularly assess children's progress, which helps them to plan for what children need to learn next. Additional funding is used appropriately to provide resources that support children's progress. For example, staff have arranged for a physical play specialist to come into the nursery a couple of times per week. They teach children physical skills to develop their agility and emotional skills to make them confident participators.
• Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities very well. They demonstrate a good knowledge and understanding of each child's individual needs and specific requirements. Staff's ongoing relationships and collaborative working with other professionals are effective in meeting children's needs. This helps children to rapidly close any gaps in their development.
• The management team is effective in promoting continuous professional development opportunities for staff. The team supervises and supports staff effectively through regular supervision and team meetings and through observations of staff's practice. Staff can build on their knowledge and access bespoke online training, which enhances their practice and supports children's learning.
• The management team and staff evaluate the nursery to promote continuous improvement. They regularly reflect on the activities and experiences that they plan. Staff use the feedback that they receive from parents and outside agencies to help them promote continuous improvement. They are keen to implement changes swiftly. For example, in the toddler room, resources have been rearranged to improve children's access to books. All children enjoy choosing and exploring a wide range of books with staff and their friends. However, staff have not yet embedded some changes. For example, changes to the transition arrangements for children at lunchtime in the pre-school room are not working well. Children wander around and do not know what is expected of them.
• Staff understand and meet children's care needs well. They respect children's need to develop their independence, and they balance this well with ensuring that children's welfare is promoted. During mealtimes, staff sit with children and support them to learn about healthy eating, appropriate manners and good hygiene.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• improve the deployment of staff in the pre-school room during transition times between activities, to help meet the diverse needs of children, so that children can understand what is expected of them.