Habonim Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thrive in this warm and nurturing environment. They arrive at the nursery with enthusiasm and a readiness to learn. Children display positive attitudes and eagerly explore the environment. Staff's interactions are of high quality, fostering strong relationships with children. Children confidently talk about their home experiences, such as recent holidays, and listen respectfully to others. This approach nurtures children's self-esteem and is supported by staff's sound judgement. Children's behaviour is good.

Leaders and staff deliver a well-sequenced and ambitious curriculum that supports children to make strong progress across all areas of learning. They plan activities that reflect children's interests and developmental stages. Staff make effective use of resources to build on what children know and can do. They adapt teaching to meet a wide range of needs, including for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff provide sensitive support to promote inclusion and participation. Accordingly, all children achieve well and develop skills to support the next stage in their learning and, when the time comes, be ready for school.

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

• Physical development is a strength of the nursery. For example, babies are supported to explore age-appropriate equipment placed around the room, such as small climbing frames and tunnels. This helps to encourage the development of core skills and balance. Older children spend extended periods engaged in creative activities, demonstrating high levels of concentration as they mix paints and use a range of mark-making tools to develop their hand muscles and hand-eye coordination. This supports children to develop skills for early writing.
• Staff encourage children to be responsible for their own self-care, such as toileting and handwashing. Children hang their belongings on their pegs. They develop a sense of responsibility as they are given roles such as lunch monitors, handing out cups and plates. Additionally, children demonstrate resilience as they are supported to put on their outdoor clothes in preparation for outdoor play. These experiences promote children's personal development and confidence.
• Staff support children to learn about the world beyond their own community by using a range of teaching strategies. For example, as children discuss the shapes of different coins, staff introduce various currencies linked to children's recent holidays and engage them in discussions about other countries. Furthermore, the diverse staff team supports children to understand similarities and differences as they take part in celebrations such as Rosh Hashanah and Diwali and learn about various faiths. Children develop a secure understanding of the world.
• Leadership and management are strong, demonstrating a clear and shared commitment to continuous improvement. Staff feel well supported through regular supervisions, coaching and targeted professional development. Morale is high, and staff feel valued in their roles. As a result, the quality of education is consistently good, leading to positive outcomes for children.
• Parents are highly positive about the nursery. They value its focus on independence, school readiness and inclusion, and they report strong progress in children's speech and physical development. Staff are praised for knowing each child well, and home learning support is appreciated. Parents feel the nursery prepares children well for life and school.
• Overall, the curriculum for communication and language is very good. Children are supported to become confident communicators. For example, when young children mispronounce words, staff ensure they hear the correct pronunciation by repeating it back. Furthermore, older children confidently use words such as 'stethoscope' as they tell visitors they are listening to hearts going 'thump-thump'. However, at times, staff do not recognise when increasing noise levels affect what children can hear. Consequently, at these times, this does not fully support children's listening and attention skills.
• Staff make high-quality interactions to promote learning, particularly during free play and small-group activities. However, during large-group activities, such as story time and focused tasks, some staff do not consistently adapt their teaching to ensure all children remain fully engaged. At these times, children become distracted and do not benefit fully from the intended learning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to recognise the impact of noise levels on children's ability to fully engage in their learning
• ensure large-group activities are organised to to enable all children to fully participate and benefit from the quality of education available.