Hand in Hand Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and very well supported by staff at the nursery. Staff place great importance on getting to know every child and family well. This enables staff to tailor activities that promote children's emotional well-being. For example, staff greet children with pots of bubbles as they arrive for their session. Children squeal with delight as they pop the bubbles they blow. This helps them separate from their parents with confidence and settle quickly. Children's behaviour is generally good. Staff are quick to offer help to those who struggle to regulate their actions. They acknowledge children's emotions and support them to explain why they feel happy or sad.

Staff design a sequenced curriculum that challenges all children to develop their curiosity and love of learning. They strive to ensure that children make the best possible progress before they start school. Support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities is very good. Staff work tirelessly with professionals and parents to ensure children get the right support. Specialist teachers visit the nursery regularly and help staff implement effective teaching strategies. For example, staff use Makaton alongside picture cards to help children communicate. This enables children to express their wants and needs and immerse themselves in nursery life.

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

• Mathematics is well embedded throughout the nursery. Staff count the number of children in the room and children repeat the numbers. Children model this in their play. For example, they add eyes to their play dough monster and correctly count how many they have used. Staff are building children's understanding of number from a young age.
• Staff plan meaningful activities that focus on what the children in their key group need to learn next. For example, they use simple group games, such as 'Pairs', to promote children's working memory and social skills. However, due to the way activities are organised, not all children who show an interest, or those who would benefit from the activity, have the opportunity to join. This means that not all children have the same high-quality opportunities to reach their fullest potential.
• Staff have effective strategies in place to support the high number of children who speak English as an additional language. For example, staff learn words in children's first language, which includes Romanian, Arabic and Turkish. This helps children who speak English as an additional language to make good progress in their communication skills and become confident talkers.
• Staff reflect and make changes to meet children's emerging interests. For example, when children use role play to enact their lived experiences, staff are quick to enhance the environment. They add different items to the play kitchen so children can add toppings to their pretend pizza. This helps to develop children's imagination, creativity and social skills.
• Staff encourage children to develop their independence. For example, they show children how to put on their own coats and support them to pour water from a small jug. However, these interactions are not always consistent, and staff complete tasks that children are capable of. For example, staff put aprons on children and hang their coats up for them. This limits their opportunities to practise new skills.
• Building relationships with families is at the heart of the nursery. Staff provide considerable support for parents. For example, staff help to translate legal documents and signpost to support services. Parents feedback that the nursery staff are 'wonderful' and 'approachable'. They speak highly of the nurturing care and education their children receive.
• Staff have effective processes for monitoring children's progress. This provides them with a good understanding of what children already know and need to learn next. This means they are quick to identify when children need more support. Staff make timely referrals to external services so that they get the help that they need. This helps prevent children falling further behind and prepares them well for school.
• All staff have regular supervision where they discuss their well-being. Staff feedback that they feel listened to and value team meetings with other nurseries in their group. They share ideas and good practice between each other to improve the overall quality of teaching.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop the organisation of group activities to enable all children to participate in learning activities
• provide children with opportunities they need to practise and embed their developing independence skills.