Hamond House Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are exceptionally happy and thrive in this incredibly welcoming, inviting and inclusive nursery. They have extremely secure attachments with the dedicated and enthusiastic staff. Settling-in sessions for new children are tailored to suit the individual needs of children and families. Staff get to know parents and children well before they start at the setting. This helps children to settle quickly and feel safe and secure in the nursery. Children engage in a wide range of stimulating learning experiences that help them to develop their knowledge and skills. They show extremely positive attitudes towards their learning and are keen to find out about their environment. Babies investigate and explore the mud kitchen as they pour water from one container to another. They mix different materials together and show good physical skills and hand-to-eye coordination. Older children enjoy mixing paint together to make different colours. They investigate what happens when they paint on different mediums, such as foil.

Children are exceptionally well behaved and polite. They demonstrate good manners and are keen to help to complete age-appropriate tasks. Children learn about the world around them and others through the well-planned experiences on offer. The nursery is at the heart of the local community. The leadership team has worked tirelessly to build positive relationships with local businesses and organisations. Children enjoy regular walks in the local area. They delight in handing out flowers and chocolates as they learn about kindness and caring for others.

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

• Staff know the children that they care for incredibly well. They involve all children in their play and adapt activities to provide children with a rich and stimulating learning environment. Children move freely around the setting and choose what they would like to do.
• Staff plan an ambitious and sequenced curriculum so that all children make progress in their learning. They are aware of the learning intent behind the activities that are on offer. Staff reflect on how successful activities are and how they can be enhanced to further support children to make progress.
• Staff expertly extend children's interests and thinking skills. For example, older children dress as pirates and make hats and treasure maps. Staff use books to extend children's understanding of maps and directions. This leads to children finding out more about volcanoes. Children enjoy watching videos of volcanoes erupting on the nursery tablet.
• Staff interact positively with children and support their communication and language development extremely well. They engage children in conversations and introduce new words to extend their vocabulary. For instance, staff use words such as 'fill', 'empty', 'scoop' and 'pat' as babies play in sand, water and mud. Older children learn the words 'lava' and 'erupt' as they find out about volcanoes.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported extremely well by knowledgeable, experienced and sensitive staff. Staff work closely with parents and outside agencies to give children the help and support that they need to reach their full potential. Children smile with delight as they splash in water and reach for flashing ducks, which helps them to develop their physical skills and coordination.
• Additional funding is used successfully. Managers carefully consider how funding can be used to give children the best opportunities.
• Staff promote healthy lifestyles very well throughout the nursery. Children enjoy a healthy and balanced diet and receive plenty of fresh air and exercise each day. They learn about the need for good oral health. Staff arrange for a local dentist to visit the nursery to teach children to take care of their teeth.
• Staff successfully promote children's independence. Babies sit together at lunchtime and are encouraged to have a go at feeding themselves. Older children help to serve their own lunch and scrape any leftovers into the bin. Mealtimes are a shared occasion and allow children to practise their social and communication skills.
• Managers successfully monitor staff's performance. They observe staff regularly and give them praise and suggestions on how they can develop their teaching skills. Staff access a wealth of training opportunities to help them meet children's individual needs and to keep their knowledge and skills current. For example, all staff are paediatric first-aid trained and have completed training to support children with specific medical needs.
• Working in partnership with parents is a high priority in the nursery. Managers and staff take time to get to know children and their families incredibly well. This helps them to be able to provide any additional support where needed. For instance, the manager regularly schedules meetings with parents who speak English as an additional language to help them complete funding forms and school applications for their children.