Headstart Day Nursery and Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are eager to enter nursery each day and wave goodbye to their parents, which shows that they feel safe and secure. Staff are kind and attentive. They recognise when children observe others playing and demonstrate how they can join in. Younger children develop positive bonds with their key person. They hold their arms up to receive comforting cuddles and then have big smiles as they go off to play.

Children show good levels of concentration and use their imagination as they bring their own ideas to life. They show control and coordination while balancing wooden blocks one on top of another as they make model houses for figures and animals. Staff help them to apply their mathematical skills, encouraging them to compare their height to the models and adding extra pieces to make them taller.

Staff have high expectations for children to be independent learners and they promote this through the curriculum. For instance, they encourage children to complete tasks themselves, such as pouring their own drinks, washing their hands and making choices about their own play. This promotes children's confidence and self-esteem in preparation for their next stages in learning.

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

• Staff support children well to develop their small- and large-muscle skills. For example, they teach children the skills they need to learn to operate scissors. Younger children show good dexterity as they use their fingertips to peel off stickers and place them on paper as part of their creations. Older children enjoy opportunities to play outdoors. They negotiate uneven surfaces and demonstrate balance and control as they kick balls to and from each other.
• Staff support children with additional needs well. For example, they seek advice and support for children to help their speech and language development. They implement this consistently, which helps children to make small steps of progress.
• Children behave well and staff provide swift support to help them manage situations that they find tricky. For example, when children take toys that others are playing with, staff explain what has happened and help children consider possible solutions. Children listen and respond well, showing kindness and respect as they fetch additional toys to ensure that there are enough for everyone.
• Parents are very complimentary about their children's experiences. They comment that, 'They could not have asked for a nicer nursery.' Staff help parents to support their children's learning at home. For example, they provide exciting projects for families to complete together, such as planting and growing sunflowers.
• Staff help children to learn how to look after the world around them. For instance, some children form part of the 'Eco Committee'. They learn about why it is important for their environment to be free from litter and about the importance of looking after nature. Children enjoy projects such as making bird feeders and bug hotels to encourage wildlife into their area. This helps give them essential skills and knowledge for the future.
• Staff help children to prepare for transition times well. For instance, they are flexible in the nursery and tailor settling-in procedures to the next room to each child's needs. Staff also liaise with staff at schools that children transfer to. They share information and welcome school staff into nursery to see children in their environment and have discussions with their key person.
• Managers support staff's professional development well. They provide online training and also opportunities for staff to explore their own interests. For example, staff have access to a lending library from which they can borrow educational books. Staff report that they feel well supported and have high levels of well-being.
• Staff plan specific activities to link to children's interests and to encourage them to take risks in their play. For instance, they want children to engage in messy play activities and experience the feeling and texture in their hands. However, staff do not implement this intent consistently well. For example, they frequently offer to wipe children's hands from the outset, which means that they do not benefit fully from the planned activity.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• help staff to understand the importance of communicating their intentions for learning and deciding how and what they will use to implement these to reach the intended outcome.