Guilden Sutton Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are inspired, eager and in awe of the wonder of the world. They are keen to learn through exciting, inventive and carefully planned out activities. The nursery successfully achieves it's vision 'to help children to be school ready, life ready and world ready'. Children's needs, interests and ideas are truly at the centre of everything. Babies learn to move their arms and whole bodies to sweep brushes and rollers up and down to make marks with paint. This helps to develop their core strength and supports their first steps in developing early writing skills and self-expression very well. Toddlers are delighted and engaged for long periods as they play with water and containers. Staff help children test out their ideas, to see what will happen when pouring water from a height. Pre-school children learn about mosaics and experiment with different materials to make their own creations.

Children are well mannered and their behaviour is exceptional. Staff successfully create an environment of respect, kindness and empathy for one another. They provide children with personalised words of encouragement as they try hard in activities. Children receive specific praise for their achievements. They show high levels of self-esteem and confidence. Children have positive attitudes towards each other and their learning. Those that need extra help receive highly focused support so they feel fully included. All children make exceptional progress.

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

• Children benefit from a personalised experience to help them transition into nursery life. New families are offered home visits and initial nursery settling-in sessions with smaller groups of children. Highly nurturing staff ensure children feel safe and build a bond with their key person.
• Staff expertly sequence children's learning opportunities. They consider the appropriate skills and experiences children need to acquire to help them be ready for their next stage in learning. For example, the mathematics and literacy curriculum considers children's individual steps in learning, from babies right the way through to pre-school.
• Staff regularly request photos and comments from home to build into children's tailored learning plans. Observations of children, their views and ideas are used as a 'spark' when staff plan activities. Staff use their expert understanding of child development and their imagination to extend children's knowledge using these 'sparks'. Children are able to make links between their prior knowledge and new learning. They recall previous learning exceptionally well.
• The staff team is incredibly supportive of each other's ideas and well-being. Staff routinely discuss how to adapt the curriculum and their teaching to meet the needs of children. Managers provide frequent opportunities for staff to access training and balance their workload thoughtfully. They actively seek support from external professionals when identifying gaps in their own knowledge. This means children receive consistently high-quality experiences at all times.
• The nursery garden has a vast selection of equipment that provides physical challenge for children. Toddlers learn how to take risks as they climb. Older children develop excellent coordination skills as they follow road signs and steer scooters and bikes around a track.
• Within the garden, a 'train spotters corner' enables children to watch and learn about passing trains. Children regularly receive visits from people within the community, such as dentists and firefighters. They are introduced to various religious festivals. This helps children to develop a positive understanding of adult roles and life in modern Britain.
• Children that speak additional languages model different words and songs to their friends. They also share their customs with staff and their peers. Staff make great use of personalised games to help children develop their understanding of similarities and differences in people. Children learn about different features people have, such as their skin and hair colour.
• Children listen to many stories each day. They take part in bringing stories to life using props and costumes. Toddlers take books home for parents to read to them. Pre-school children are supported to think of and act out their own stories. Children delight when a 'secret reader' comes in to read a new story. Pre-school children are beginning to learn letter sounds and letter formation. Their literacy skills are flourishing.
• Staff ensure that children hear new vocabulary to help them be confident communicators and express their opinions. Children that need extra help communicating their needs have their own personalised photo cards and sign language. New vocabulary is continually offered to children during their play. As a result, children are chatty, curious and hold thoughtful conversations.
• Parents cannot fault the nursery. They are proud of how much of an impact the nursery has on their children's love of learning. Parents say 'they treat all of the children as individuals'. They commend the commitment the nursery provided during the COVID-19 pandemic. Parents credit their children's achievements to the consistent support and focus provided.