Headstart Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children show that they feel safe and secure in the nursery. They demonstrate that they have positive relationships with staff and children. Children laugh with staff when they play peekaboo. Older children hold on to younger children's hands and pretend to row a boat when they hear action rhymes. When younger children wake from sleeping, older children give them a cuddle. Children are polite and say, 'thank you' to staff when they pass them wooden bricks to build and construct. Children show a positive attitude to being helpful, such as when it is time to tidy away the toys. They use a dustpan and brush to help clean tinsel off the floor.

Staff know the children well and support them to make progress in their learning. For example, when children play in a role-play kitchen, staff encourage them to extend their imaginative play. Staff ask children what ingredients they will need when children say they want to make a cake. Children say, 'sugar' and pretend to crack open an egg. Children think critically when they make Christmas crackers. They make sure that a label shows the writing the correct way up before they glue it onto the cracker. Younger children copy staff and learn how to use technology when, for example, staff show them how to press buttons on toys to make sounds.

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

• The manager supports staff to extend their professional development. Recent relevant training helps them to increase their knowledge of how to support children's communication and language skills. For example, they introduce new words to help extend children's vocabulary, such as 'bauble'. Staff sing songs with children, encouraging their speaking skills.
• The manager and staff place a strong emphasis on supporting children's personal, social and emotional development. Children are offered taster sessions to help them to become familiar with staff and the environment. Before children move on to school, staff share books with them about going to school. This helps them to be emotionally ready for changes they face.
• Staff provide a caring environment for children. When new children are unsettled when they first attend, staff offer them comfort and a calm voice to help reassure them.
• Parents provide positive comments about staff and their children's experiences in the nursery. They say that staff are loving and supportive, and that their children thrive in their learning. However, only the parents of older children are supported to help their children to develop a love of books and reading at home. The same support is not offered to the younger children and their parents, to ensure that everyone is given the same opportunities.
• Staff help children to broaden the experiences they receive at home. For example, when children see Christmas trees at home, staff provide them with opportunities to learn how to decorate a tree. Children use baubles and tinsel, and work as a team and to think about where to place the decorations.
• Staff give children praise for their achievements, such as when they help staff to use a ribbon to tie a knot. Staff encourage children to share, for example, they ask older children to find tinsel for younger children to use. This helps children to understand what is expected of them.
• The manager and staff reflect on the experiences children receive in the nursery. They make changes to the furniture and layout in the pre-school room to allow children to see toys and resources more easily. This enables children to make more independent choices in their play to support their interests.
• Children are given opportunities to play in a sensory room, where staff give them experiences to look at coloured lights and to listen and dance to calming music. This is particularly beneficial for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. This helps them to manage their feelings and emotions.
• Children are keen to explore and investigate the toys and resources offered. However, during their self-chosen play, staff do not fully help children to understand why they need to keep themselves safe. One example of this is when staff talk to children about not touching lights on a Christmas tree; they do not help them to understand why they should not do this.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• help staff to encourage all parents to support their children to develop a love of books and reading at home
• support staff to develop children's understanding of why they need to keep themselves safe.