Headstart-On-The-Hill Nursery & Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thoroughly enjoy the time they spend at this exciting nursery. Staff provide rich opportunities that ignite curiosity and allow children to explore using their senses. For example, as children show an interest in a pineapple, staff provide knives and supervision to allow them to cut open the fruit and smell and taste it. Children shout 'cold' as they feel ice and attempt to 'save the dinosaur' that is inside. They use hammers to crack the ice and keep on trying when it becomes tricky. Children make good progress in their learning.

Children are confident and secure in their relationships with staff and each other. Staff consult them before changing their nappies. Staff praise children's efforts and offer a 'high five' as they achieve a task. Children respond well and try again. Relationships are caring and respectful.

Staff organise the day well, and children follow the good routines. Staff ensure that routines do not interrupt children's play. This allows children to continue their learning and to complete activities they are enjoying. Children show care for the environment and living things. Older children take part in litter-picking outings with staff in the community. Children water plants and touch them gently to explore how they feel. Staff behave in a calm way and use good manners when interacting with children. This helps children to understand the expectations from staff.

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

• Leaders place particular focus on ensuring children's communication and language development is supported. Staff model language well and introduce children to new words such as 'spiky' and 'separation' as they explore. Staff engage in thoughtful discussions with children and model the correct pronunciation of words. As younger children point to objects, staff name them. This supports children to learn new words.
• Children are adventurous in their physical play. They develop their core strength as they transport heavy containers and wheelbarrows full of water to add to their mixtures. Babies walk across balancing equipment and staff encourage them to jump off at the end. They beam with pride as they succeed and clap at their own achievement. Staff provide exciting experiences to support children in developing their confidence and physical skills.
• Staff are skilled at supporting children's creativity and imagination. They provide many opportunities for children to express themselves. Children have access to exciting resources that they use to enhance their role play. They invite staff into their play and enjoy dressing up together. Children enjoy exploring instruments as staff sing to them. They use wooden spoons to create sounds on metal drums and strum guitars. Babies wave scarves around and move in time to the songs and are quickly soothed as staff sing to them.
• Partnerships with parents and families are positive. Parents feel fully informed about their children's care needs and development through regular information-sharing. Parents state that they could not be happier with the care that their children receive at this 'magical place'. They have noticed that their children have become more independent and grown in confidence since they have started at nursery.
• Staff support children to learn about different cultures and ways of life. Parents spend time in the setting, sharing songs from their own cultures and teaching children some words in different languages. Children proudly share the new words they have learned with visitors as they dance along to the music. This helps children to value their own identity and respect the similarities and differences of others.
• Leaders place a high priority on supporting staff well-being and practice. Staff are supported to further their qualifications and skills through supervision and training from leaders. However, there are still some minor inconsistencies in teaching. On occasions, some teaching is not well matched to children's stages of development. This means that some activities do not sequentially build on what children know and can do.
• Staff promote children's independence skills. Children independently wash their hands before mealtimes and after using the toilet. They serve their own food and wash their plates and cups once they have finished. Staff encourage children to sit on the potty as they have their nappy changed. Children develop good self-care skills.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• make more use of the strategies already in place to further staff's teaching skills to a consistently high level.