Highwood Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

All children thrive in this nurturing and inclusive nursery. They develop secure and loving attachments with their key person and staff. As a result, children feel settled, safe and happy. They display exceptionally high levels of confidence and self-esteem. Children's behaviour is impeccable. Older children are able to identify a range of feelings and emotions. They develop empathy and work together as a team to complete tasks. This helps children to have the skills necessary to form relationships with their peers. Children learn about what makes them unique and develop respect for others, which prepares children for the diverse world we live in.

Children are highly motivated to learn and are deeply engaged in meaningful play throughout the day. Babies show high levels of curiosity in the calm and restful environment. They enjoy comforting cuddles and gentle words of reassurance when needed. Children have excellent opportunities to explore using their senses. For example, babies have fun investigating the texture of liquid soap and rice. They learn new words, such as 'slimy' and 'sticky', which helps to develop their growing vocabulary. Children learn about rhythm and rhyming words through energetic singing and music sessions. This helps children to develop their early literacy skills.

Healthy lifestyles are promoted well at the nursery. All children have daily opportunities to play and exercise in the extremely well-resourced garden. They develop their large-muscle skills as they climb and run with their friends. They learn about the importance of a healthy and balanced diet, and dentists visit the nursery to teach children about oral hygiene.

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

• The manager and the owner lead a happy and dynamic team. They share a clear vision and focus sharply on continually developing the high-quality service they provide and learning opportunities children receive. The professional staff team are dedicated to creating an innovative and stimulating environment for children to explore at their own pace and become independent learners.
• The manager and the owner are passionate in providing staff with excellent opportunities for professional development. Staff benefit from regular supervision sessions to monitor their well-being and the quality of the education they provide. They receive targeted training and mentoring to build on their impeccable knowledge and understanding.
• Partnerships with parents are superb. Parents speak very highly of the nursery and the rapid progress their children make. They value the online learning journey that supports them in being fully involved in their children's learning.
• The manager and staff offer exceptional support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff skilfully adapt routines and activities to ensure that children with SEND are fully included.
• Children have enjoyable opportunities to learn about the natural world. They help to grow herbs and vegetables and learn where food comes from. For example, children grow pumpkins from seed and harvest them when they are ripe. They develop an in-depth understanding of the changing seasons, such as autumn, and learn that conkers grow on horse-chestnut trees.
• Staff expertly support children's communication and language skills. They naturally weave in plenty of opportunities to extend children's learning through their own interests and conversations. For instance, older children learn to work out simple sums as they explore construction materials. They confidently count how many building blocks there are and consider how numbers change when they add more blocks or take some away.
• Inviting and cosy reading areas encourage children to investigate the wide range of books on offer. Staff read stories with excellent intonation and expression. They enhance storytelling by introducing props to engage children further and bring stories to life. Toddlers delight in listening to a story about a tiger who came for tea. They say that the story is making them hungry and pretend to make cups of tea with tea bags, cups and teapots.
• Children learn to assess risk and keep themselves safe. They have lots of fun in the forest school area as they work together to carefully carry large planks of wood and sticks. Children enthusiastically test out their ideas, solve problems and think critically as they build a shelter for a large furry toy bear.
• The manager and the owner have established strong links with teachers from the local primary schools, which helps to aid smooth transitions. Children are very well prepared for school and have a secure and strong foundation for their future learning.