Happy Children Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and secure in this exceptionally nurturing provision. They thrive in the care of the extremely knowledgeable staff, who effectively support and enhance their play. All children are quick to engage in their activities. They are eager to access the resources they need to challenge their own learning. Children learn about the world around them and where they come from. Photos, books and resources reflect the diversity of the wider world. This encourages the children to become tolerant individuals and confident and independent learners.

Exemplary first-hand opportunities allow children to explore and understand their environment. For example, children grow and pick their own fruit and vegetables to make snacks. They become increasingly independent, taking pride in being able to do things for themselves. Children learn how to care for living things, including Pearl their pet African land snail. They independently pour water to wet a little sponge that they gently use to keep Pearl nice and healthy. Staff have extremely high expectations of children's abilities and behaviours. Children suggest, and so understand, the rules and boundaries of the setting. They follow them independently and without being reminded, showing remarkable respect for staff and each other. Staff work closely with parents to identify and acknowledge their child's individual needs. Therefore, when children start at the setting, their transition from home is seamless.

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

• Staff build upon children's developing skills to support their previous learning. Children play, learn and achieve through a variety of activities, such as making their own books and investigating animals around the world. Children remain focused on their chosen activities for sustained periods, concentrating hard and showing resilience.
• Leaders consistently implement a broad curriculum that includes all children. It is embedded across the setting and instinctively inspires the next steps in children's learning. Progression from the toddler room to the pre-school room flows easily, and all children make exceptional progress from their starting points.
• Highly effective interactions with staff encourage children to learn new words and use them in their play. For example, children talk about their stories, using words like characters, author and illustrator. Children are constantly given opportunities to develop their growing vocabulary, helping them to become excellent communicators.
• Staff effectively challenge children's developing physical skills through high-quality opportunities in the outdoor area. Children can follow an obstacle course designed to challenge their physical skills. This encourages even the youngest children to become more confident in their physical abilities, and it supports their physical and emotional well-being.
• Leaders use additional funding exceptionally well. The manager precisely plans and provides resources and activities to support speaking and listening skills. 'Sound boxes' provide speaking and listening games, activity ideas and rhyme cards. As such, staff are well prepared to promote children's speech, communication and language development and identify any gaps in their learning.
• Parents strongly recommend the nursery. Staff prioritise parent involvement in their child's learning. Leaders offer workshops for parents to access where staff model activities and ideas to support children's development at home. This highly effective partnership extends the children's learning and builds upon the skills they have already developed.
• The experienced manager offers staff exceptional supervision and appraisal. Staff are encouraged to review their own practice, enabling them to highlight strengths and areas for improvement. Therefore, future training is precisely focused on what staff need to learn to enhance children's learning further. During staff meetings, they discuss and evaluate the impact of training and continually make changes to the environment and their practice, therefore ensuring exceptional learning experiences and opportunities for the children.
• Staff provide opportunities for the children to explore the world around them. They receive visits from local authors, parents and community members who talk about their roles. The dentist comes in to talk to the children about the importance of toothbrushing, and they look at how much sugar is in their favourite drinks and the effect this has on the children's teeth. Through workshops for parents, leaders encourage them to share information about healthy eating and packing healthy lunches, to promote children's healthy lifestyles.