Hillbury House Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff give children a warm welcome, so they arrive happily and are eager to start their day. They encourage children to find their peg and hang up their belongings. Staff provide a range of activities that children are excited to explore. They giggle and chat with friends as they begin to play. Older children enjoy playing with train tracks. They work as a team to connect the track to make a circle. Babies enjoy sharing books and singing familiar songs with caring staff.

Children have a positive attitude to learning. Staff motivate children to keep on trying when learning becomes difficult. Staff support babies to climb on soft play and pull themselves up on low-level equipment. They use positive praise and encouragement when older children navigate themselves over climbing equipment.

Children regularly go out into the local community. Staff plan a wide range of exciting opportunities for children to encounter new experiences. For example, they visit the local shops and elderly care homes. Children take part in community sponsored walks to raise funds for charity. They develop confidence through caring interactions with a variety of community members. This supports children's learning of the wider community.

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

• Leaders have built a curriculum that focuses on what they want children to learn. Staff plan exciting and enjoyable topics such as planets and space. Children beam with excitement as they confidently name planets, such as Jupiter, Mars and Saturn. However, some activities are pitched too high and are not closely matched to children's abilities. Occasionally, staff direct younger children's activities too much and do not always support their creativity. This results in some children losing interest and lacking engagement in their learning.
• All children benefit from caring relationships with their key person. When babies wake from their sleep, they see their key person and reach out for cuddles. Older children seek out their key person to play or snuggle up to share stories. Each key person knows the children they care for very well. This supports a sense of belonging at the nursery.
• Overall, children behave well. They use good manners and learn to say please and thank you. Some staff give clear direction to support children's understanding of expectations. However, occasionally, staff are not consistent in their approach. This results in children repeating behaviours such as throwing and snatching toys. This means children do not fully understand what is expected of them, or how to manage their behaviour.
• Children are beginning to manage their own independence and personal hygiene. For example, they wash their hands before mealtimes and wipe their own nose. Younger children feed themselves with support from staff. Older children take responsibility for the environment as they tidy away their toys. This helps children to develop independence skills required for their future.
• Partnership with parents is good. Staff work closely with parents to support their children's learning at home. For example, they provide learning bags and exciting projects for families to complete together at home. Parents say that they feel fully involved in their children's learning. They value the opportunities to meet with staff during regular parent coffee mornings.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive good support. The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) works closely with parents, key persons and other professionals to devise targeted plans. This supports children in achieving the best possible outcomes.
• Leaders are experienced and knowledgeable. They are extremely passionate about making continuous improvements to the nursery. For example, they have clear action plans in place to support staff skills and knowledge. Staff who are new to their role are given training, mentoring and guidance. Supervisions are in place to support staff's well-being. Leaders celebrate staff's achievements through recognition 'shout outs'. This inspires staff and increases morale.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to strengthen the implementation of the curriculum, to provide children with activities more precisely matched to their learning needs
• support staff to be consistent in their behaviour management strategies, to build on children's understanding of behaviour expectations.