Hampstead Gate Day Nursery & Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy, settled and safe at this welcoming nursery. They arrive keen to start their day. They receive a warm welcome from kind and enthusiastic staff. These positive relationships are maintained throughout the day. Children behave well. They listen to what is asked of them and cooperate with requests from staff. They are learning well to share and play with other children. They are polite and welcoming to visitors. For example, the inspector was invited by children to join in with a woodwork activity. Children showed they were remembering well what they had learned. They were able to explain why it is important to wear safety goggles and how to hold the hammer carefully.

Post the Covid-19 pandemic staff have focused even more closely on children's developing social and independence skills. The impact of this is seen in children's good developing levels of confidence to do things for themselves. This learning has been well embedded across the nursery. Children in pre-school confidently find their cutlery and name cards for meals. They scrape their plates after eating. Children show they are developing a broad range of skills and knowledge in readiness for the next stage in their learning.

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

• Staff plan a curriculum around children's interests and developmental needs. They are clear about the benefits of focusing on children's social, physical and communication skills. They also understand the benefits of exposing children to other learning that helps them understand the world around them.
• All children have plenty of opportunities to develop their physical skills. Staff carefully set out furniture and resources for babies to encourage crawling and early walking. For example, staff place a 'walking wall' in the middle of the room to encourage children to pull themselves to standing. Toddlers and older children use the attractive outdoor resources to practise climbing, balancing and peddling. All children have access to lots of resources that encourage them to develop their small-muscle strength in preparation for later writing.
• Staff plan an interesting and innovative programme of 'eco learning'. They want children to respect their environment and understand the importance of doing so. Children learn to recycle, look after plants and encourage insects into the environment.
• Overall, staff promote children's developing language effectively. Staff ensure there are lots of books available and happily sit and read with children. They ensure they pronounce words correctly. They are clear about how best to help different aged children learn new words and communicate. However, sometimes staff do not adapt their interactions to best support this learning intent.
• The care staff provide for children is a real strength. Staff follow children's eating and sleeping routines from home, understanding how important this continuity is to children's well-being and sense of belonging.
• Children show they thoroughly enjoy their play and learning. Babies delight in exploring cooking ingredients. Older children love making potions. Staff offer lots of encouragement and support as children explore and learn. Children are developing well into curious learners.
• Staff ensure resources reflect what makes children unique and special. For example, pre-school aged children can accurately re-create images of themselves. Across the nursery, children take part in celebrations to mark special days from their own and other cultures. Children feel valued.
• Parents are overwhelmingly complimentary about their children's experiences at nursery. They report that staff are very caring. Parents give examples of how staff have helped them further support their children's development at home. For example, parents explain how staff have helped them with strategies to promote positive behaviour.
• Staff have a wealth of opportunities to attend training and develop their skills. Leaders work hard to show staff how much they are appreciated. Staff report that they feel valued and really enjoy their jobs. This helps ensure a positive and happy atmosphere for staff and children alike. The leadership team has good oversight of the curriculum aims and children's progress. However, they are not yet monitoring staff performance closely enough to offer staff the individual support that will build further still on their existing good teaching skills.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to deliver the communication and language curriculum, focusing on adapting how language is modelled, to best meet children's different ages and staged of development
• monitor staff practice more precisely, so that feedback and support can focus on addressing specific inconsistencies to build further on the overall good quality practice.