Head Start Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thoroughly enjoy their time at this nursery. They have warm and trusting relationships with staff who are supportive and caring. Staff are nurturing towards babies settling into the nursery, holding them closely and offering them reassurance when they are upset. As a result, babies are forming strong attachments, giving them the confidence to explore their new environment. Pre-school children demonstrate their positive relationships as they rush to find their key person to show them the results of their science experiment.

Children have a wealth of opportunities to develop their independence. Young children are becoming competent at putting on their own puddle suits and wellies. They drink from open top cups and butter their own fruit loaf for tea. Staff encourage children to use a knife and fork correctly and support them to cut their own food. Pre-school children are learning important skills to get them ready for school. They take themselves to the toilet, hang up their own coats and are encouraged to ask for help when needed.

Staff surround children with a selection of songs and rhymes. Children hear and respond to them with excitement and enthusiasm. Baby room staff use props to stimulate children further when they sing familiar songs. For example, babies flap their arms and legs with excitement as the toy frog leaps out of the box. They laugh as it leaps through the air and lands next to them. Pre-school children stamp their feet and move their bodies to the rhythm of the new nursery rhymes they are learning. Children are enjoying developing their early literacy skills.

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

• Children benefit from a well-thought-out curriculum. They are constantly building on their previous learning as they progress through the nursery. Staff aim to broaden the experiences that children have at home. A woodland-inspired area gives children opportunities to practise their physical skills as they ride on bicycles and run freely. They learn to take risks as they explore the outdoor area and have opportunities to grow their own vegetables. This supports children's understanding of the natural world.
• Children behave well and show good skills in turn taking. They demonstrate high levels of engagement in adult-led activities. Staff create a learning environment that helps children to maintain their concentration levels and experience a deeper level of learning. However, on occasions, disturbances in the environment distract toddlers. For example, story time is disrupted by staff moving between rooms and children coming in from outdoor play. Toddlers are distracted and lose focus. This means children's learning is disrupted, as they are unable to fully listen and engage in the story.
• Staff place a strong focus on developing children's communication and language skills. They help to extend children's vocabulary by introducing them to five new words each day. Staff skilfully model these new words in children's play. Open-ended questions encourage children to practise their language. Children show delight with the praise they receive for using their spoken words. As a result, they are becoming confident communicators.
• Staff know the children in their care extremely well. They monitor children's development and make good use of assessment to plan next steps in learning. A range of exciting activities motivate children to learn. For example, pre-school children use a range of tools to free the animals trapped in the ice in a science activity. They excitedly discuss the changes they observe as the ice melts to water. Children are making good progress in their learning.
• The manager and her team provide exceptional support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Regular meetings with parents and external professionals result in highly specific support plans. The manager ensures that children with SEND have full access to the curriculum. Children learn how to use pictures to communicate their wants and needs. As a result, they are making excellent progress.
• The dedicated and passionate manager is a positive role model. Staff well-being is a high priority and, as a result, staff feel extremely well supported. They have regular opportunities to observe each other's teaching, and regular supervision meetings help to identify strengths in practice and where improvements can be made. All staff access mandatory training such as paediatric first aid and safeguarding. However, professional development opportunities are not consistent between staff. Furthermore, identified training is not always highly specific to consistently build on staff members' knowledge and teaching.
• Partnerships with parents are strong. Staff keep parents informed of their children's progress and current targets. Regular and informative workshops enable parents to support children's learning at home. They cover a range of topics such as letters and sounds, mathematics, and supporting communication and language development. Parents speak highly of the nursery. They describe the staff as incredibly positive, professional and accommodating.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• focus staff training to further enhance professional development to consistently build on staff knowledge and teaching
• review the organisation of toddler story time sessions to ensure there are no distractions, to enable children to fully engage in the activity.