Highbury Community Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happily and engage quickly in a wide variety of imaginative, stimulating activities. Leaders are keen to promote secure attachments between staff and children and to build on children's sense of belonging. Staff carry out home visits and encourage children to bring in a bag containing familiar items, to help them to settle happily. They build affectionate bonds with children. Staff help children to feel secure and confident in the nursery by getting to know them and by valuing each child highly. They greet children warmly and make timely interventions in their play to support their learning.

Staff have high expectations of children's learning and behaviour and children act in positive ways. Leaders provide a creative, child-led and comprehensive curriculum that helps children to prepare well for school. All children make good progress. Staff keep track of children's development and ensure that additional support is given to any child who needs it. Staff understand how to seek support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Children enjoy experiencing the changing texture of cornflour when mixed with water and skilfully make wheel prints on paper with paint. Younger children take part in lively song and rhyme sessions, where they move in different ways and learn new words. They listen attentively to staff during a reading of the 'Dear Zoo' story and enjoy matching animal puppets to the characters. Staff teach them the names of animals and the sounds they make. These activities support children's learning well.

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

• Leaders place a high emphasis on supporting and coaching staff. They have regular supervision meetings with staff and use this to provide feedback and guidance to them. Staff also have opportunities to observe and learn from each other. Leaders provide a range of opportunities for staff to attend training, such as supporting children's mathematical development. In addition, leaders use a range of strategies and methods to support staff's own well-being.
• Staff weave mathematics into different activities so children learn as they play. For example, children count the number of sunflowers they have planted and staff teach children words, such as 'higher', as children climb up a rope ladder. Staff teach younger children simple counting skills while reciting number rhymes.
• Partnerships with parents are strong. Parents borrow books from the nursery to share at home with children. Staff provide a range of useful workshops and training sessions to support parents, such as first-aid training and behaviour management sessions. They work well in close collaboration with parents. This includes providing parents with regular information about their child's development. Parents' comments include 'the nursery is an extension of a child's family' and parents feel that children are prepared well for school.
• Staff provide a range of learning experiences outside that enable children to develop their physical skills. Older children enjoy physical challenges as they climb up rope ladders and balance skilfully across stepping stones in the well-equipped garden. Younger children eagerly crawl through tunnels and staff support them as they balance along low planks. A specialist coach visits the nursery to enhance children's physical skills. Children develop well in this area.
• Staff teach children good emotional regulation skills. For instance, staff provide basic yoga sessions to promote calm feelings. They support children's understanding of emotions by using stories, puppets and leading informative discussions.
• Leaders are reflective and committed to ongoing improvement. They review all aspects of the nursery and decide on relevant goals to promote best outcomes for children.
• Children gain a very good understanding of the world. For example, staff teach them how to make compost from food waste. Staff explain how to conserve energy to protect the planet, for instance, by pointing out when lights are on unnecessarily. They teach children where food comes from by planting and growing fruit and vegetables with children.
• Staff help children to build good foundations for literacy by providing a wide range of books covering different genres. Children enjoy listening to stories read by staff and happily browse through books on their own. Staff teach children new words as they take part in activities. They organise small-group work, where older children learn about letters and the sounds they make.
• Staff use creative activities, stories and discussion to teach children about the importance of eating well. The nursery provides nutritious meals and snacks. However, at times during the younger children's lunchtime, the noise levels in the dining room are high as they wait for food to be served. Children become distracted and this means that they lose focus and miss out on learning opportunities.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• consider ways to manage meal times more effectively to enable younger children to settle more readily and enhance their personal and social development.