Hamd House Nursery - Alum Rock

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff are highly attuned to each child's individual needs and interests. They demonstrate unwavering passion and commitment to all children. This means every child, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), thrives in an ambitious and inclusive environment. Staff provide consistently inspirational teaching and learning experiences, which result in children making exceptional progress across all areas of development. Children show high levels of confidence, resilience and determination. They eagerly explore challenges and demonstrate a deep love of learning.

Staff have exceptionally high expectations for children's behaviour, which is consistently exemplary across the setting. Children behave impeccably. They are polite and respectful and demonstrate strong social skills. Children listen carefully to their friends and wait patiently for their turn to contribute. Staff skilfully acknowledge and value every child's ideas, which ensures that their contributions are celebrated and extended, such as when they talk about foods that are bad for their teeth. Staff deepen their understanding by introducing new vocabulary such as 'decay' and explaining the effects of too much sugar. As a result, children develop remarkable confidence and self-assurance. They demonstrate the ability to regulate their own behaviour and show curiosity and determination in their learning. This helps to prepare them exceptionally well for their future learning.

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

• The curriculum is coherently designed and implemented to meet the needs of the children who attend. It is ambitious and consistently adapted to provide high-quality experiences for every child. Staff make the most of every opportunity to build on what children already know and can do. For example, as children role-play in the garden kitchen area, staff extend their thinking by asking where milk comes from. Children confidently explain that it can come from camels and buffalos as well as cows, showing the depth of knowledge they have gained. This demonstrates how the curriculum successfully broadens children's understanding of the world around them and supports them in developing rich and secure knowledge.
• Staff go above and beyond to ensure that children with SEND receive the support they need to thrive. They are highly skilled at identifying any delays in children's learning and development at the earliest stage. Staff work in close partnership with parents to plan appropriate and targeted support. As a result, they implement timely interventions, enabling children with SEND to make excellent progress from their individual starting points and to achieve highly ambitious outcomes.
• Children develop a strong understanding of the importance of belonging to and respecting their local and wider communities. They actively participate in initiatives, such as recycling and litter picking, which instil a sense of responsibility for the world around them. Children use their imagination to transform recycled materials into creative masterpieces, such as robots and animals. These meaningful opportunities teach children valuable life lessons about caring for their environment and the impact their actions have on others. This helps them to become thoughtful, responsible citizens of the future.
• Leaders use funding for disadvantaged children with precision. This enables all children to access the same high-quality experiences as their peers. This targeted approach has an exceptionally positive impact on the provision offered. Parents consistently share outstanding feedback, recognising the meticulous care and tailored support their children receive. They note the significant progress their children make as a result.
• Leaders and managers provide highly effective opportunities for staff to access targeted, focused and purposeful training that strengthens their professional development. The support for staff extends beyond expectations to enable every staff member to feel valued and empowered. This culture of professional growth and mutual respect fosters an exceptionally positive and supportive working environment.
• Children demonstrate sustained levels of concentration, curiosity and engagement in their learning. Staff consistently model rich and precise language, extending children's vocabulary and deepening their understanding across all areas of learning, such as in discussions around healthy choices. Staff introduce new terminology to help children articulate how food and drink affect their energy, well-being and development of strong, healthy bodies.