Heatherfield Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff welcome children to this safe, friendly and inviting environment. Children are happy and enjoy the time they spend at the nursery. Children develop strong bonds with their key person. Staff who care for younger children provide cuddles and reassurance. This helps children to feel safe, secure and confident to play and explore their new surroundings. For example, children confidently talk to visitors and invite them to join in with their play.

Children understand the routines of the day and behave well. They listen to staff and respond to instructions given. This helps to ensure a calm environment where children show positive attitudes to their learning. For example, children gather enthusiastically at story time, and wait their turn to ask questions. Staff encourage children to value and respect their friends. They use praise effectively throughout the day. This helps to build children's confidence and self-esteem.

Staff promote opportunities for children to learn good independence skills. For example, at mealtimes, children serve themselves vegetables and pour their own drinks. Children make choices about their learning and select resources themselves. This helps to prepare them for future learning and their eventual move to school.

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

• Staff help children to develop their early mathematical skills. Children have lots of opportunities to build on their mathematical understanding in a range of enjoyable and exciting ways. They regularly use mathematical language in their play. For example, they count from one to 10 and beyond as they count the number of wheels on the toy train.
• Children's learning takes place in a child-led play environment, where children make choices for themselves. For example, they use their imagination to make pumpkin soup while pretending to be witches. Staff use their knowledge of children to extend their thinking and play experiences. This means that children are making good progress in all areas of learning.
• Overall, staff place a strong emphasis on developing children's speech and language skills. Staff provide a language-rich environment where they talk to children, sing songs and read books. Staff model language well to children and engage older children in high-quality conversations. However, younger children are not always given enough time to gather their thoughts and answer the questions asked of them.
• The management team is enthusiastic about developing the quality of the provision. Staff are provided with regular training opportunities to help them to develop their practice. For example, staff have recently attended behaviour management training and have introduced new behaviour strategies into the setting. This has had an overall positive impact on the setting. However, leaders do not always review the impact of all training successfully, to identify any weaknesses in staff's knowledge.
• Children develop a real interest in learning outdoors. They have access to purpose-built outdoor play areas, providing them with a range of opportunities that support their physical development. For example, older children dress up as superheroes and develop their large-muscle skills as they ride bikes and climb on giant tyres together.
• Partnerships with parents are strong. Parents speak positively about the nursery. They say that they feel supported and like the home-from-home environment that staff provide for their children. Parents receive daily information about what children are doing. They particularly like the online platform which has regular updates on children's learning.
• Staff have established routines which support children's understanding of healthy eating. For example, children are provided with healthy and nutritious food which is prepared daily on site by the nursery cook. Children learn about the importance of washing their hands before eating. This means that children's health and well-being are promoted well.
• The support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities is a strength of the nursery. Staff are quick to identify children who need additional support, and they work effectively with other professionals. The special educational needs coordinator is knowledgeable and works closely with the management team, to put specific plans in place for children.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review the impact of staff training further, to ensure that the knowledge they have gained is firmly in place
• support children's communication and language further by giving younger children more time to gather their thoughts and answer questions.