Hamd House Nursery - Small Heath

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff greet children at the door and they receive a warm welcome to this inclusive nursery. Children love coming in and are enthusiastic, inquisitive and highly motivated to learn. Staff provide a rich array of activities to promote children's interest, excitement and thirst for learning. Younger children enjoy painting pictures of butterflies, which they link back to the story of 'The Hungry Caterpillar'. They talk about the food the caterpillar eats and what is healthy and what is not. Older children enjoy playing a game of I-spy while eating snack. They describe the fruit without naming it, using rich vocabulary, such as 'crunchy, succulent and sweet'. Staff support their learning by showing flash cards with the names of the fruit on. They all discuss the letter sounds.

Children relish opportunities to demonstrate their skills as they take turns writing letters on a white board. They show pride in their achievement. Staff and their friends congratulate them by clapping, which gives them a real sense of belonging and enhances their self-esteem. Staff provide excellent experiences for children, which they may not receive elsewhere. Children delight in recalling when the animal man visited and talk about what snakes look and feel like. They giggle as they remember the snakes tongues going in and out of its mouth and that it uses it to sniff them. The nursery really excels in supporting all children to reach their full potential.

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

• The dedicated provider and manager lead an extremely committed team of highly qualified and experienced staff. The quality of teaching is outstanding. Staff work exceptionally well together to maintain the high-quality of teaching. They provide an exciting learning environment, indoors and outdoors, which promotes all areas of the curriculum.
• The provider's ambitious and well-sequenced curriculum builds on what children know and can do. It is highly effective at promoting early communication and language skills. A strong emphasis is placed on language and literacy. Highly skilled staff consistently introduce a rich vocabulary to children, to further extend their language skills. For example, when children complete a science experiment to investigate 'what sinks and what floats', staff ask them about the water and whether it is 'transparent'. When looking at volcanos and mixing vinegar, soap, and bicarbonate soda, they talk about 'eruption' and 'erupting'.
• All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make excellent progress from their starting points. Children learn phonetic sounds to letters and progress this knowledge to segmenting and blending sounds, developing early reading skills. Staff provide lots of opportunities for children to develop and gain a significant understanding of mathematical concepts. This teaching goes above and beyond counting and recognising numbers. Children can weigh, measure, compare and contrast different items. Children recall the knowledge they have learned. For example, at snack time, children talk about cucumbers being a whole circle or semi-circle.
• British values are expertly threaded throughout all the activities. Children learn about respect and tolerance for those who may be different to them. They are reminded of classroom rules and how to be kind to their friends and take turns. Children's behaviour is exemplary.
• The provider and staff team consistently and effectively evaluate the impact of the provision on children's progress. This includes the impact of the early years pupil premium funding. The provider has created a toy library with educational toys and activities, as well as reading books for children to take home to play with and share.
• Parents report how thrilled they are with the nursery. Excellent communication enables them to understand their child's learning and progress. Activity packs and regular newsletters help them to support their child's learning even further at home.
• Children's knowledge about how to lead a healthy lifestyle is inspiring. They learn how many portions of fruit and vegetables they need each day to keep healthy. Younger children learn about how the body and digestive system work. Children confidently recall that milk comes from cows and contains calcium, which is good for teeth and bones. They also learn what is good and healthy for the planet and the environment. Children have explored what can be recycled to keep the planet healthy.
• The provider places a sharp focus on continuous professional development for all staff. Staff say they feel very supported by the provider and manager, who promote their well-being very effectively. The highly positive working relationships between all the staff in the nursery reflect their ethos to value every child. Staff show a real commitment to providing high-quality interactions and experiences for all children.