Hillside Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children of all ages thrive at the nursery. They gain confidence and are well behaved. Full of smiles, babies and children explore the inspiring indoor and outdoor learning environments. They all have very good relationships with the staff, who show genuine warmth and affection towards them. Babies receive sensitive support. Staff give reassuring cuddles when babies are wary of visitors. Staff foster children's self-esteem and show genuine pride when children achieve. Babies develop their mobility. They crawl at speed and develop confidence in their walking skills. Toddlers learn to negotiate steps in the garden, climb and slide, with staff close by to ensure their safety. Older children show their agility as they chase each other through the forest area. They work cooperatively to manoeuvre a trolley over the rough terrain, following verbal guidance from staff to help steer it in the direction they want. They develop their throwing and kicking skills as they play ball games with staff.

Staff understand children's individual needs, interests and abilities. They plan and implement a curriculum that provides many rich and varied learning experiences that build on what children know and can do effectively, overall. Children enjoy well-planned group activities that promote their thinking and understanding of the world. For example, staff talk with children about what they see and hear outdoors. Children suggest the names of birds they hear, such as 'seagull' and 'robin'. Staff encourage them to think about what birds eat, and children make clay worms.

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

• Staff instinctively extend children's language and thinking skills. They model language, provide a narrative to children's play and introduce new vocabulary. They make good use of songs, rhymes and stories and ask questions to encourage children to share ideas and recall experiences. Staff encourage babies to learn good manners. They help them learn to say 'please' and 'thank you' or to use simple sign language. Older children enthusiastically talk to visitors about their experiences.
• Staff promote children's social skills and independence from a young age. For example, the youngest children learn to drink safely from small glasses and to feed themselves. Older children serve their own lunch and pour their drinks.
• The managers and staff are very enthusiastic in their roles and ensure that every child has fun in their learning and development. Staff join in children's play and interact well with them but also know when to stand back and let children explore and investigate freely. Children develop confidence and are well-prepared to move on to school. Staff want children to develop their early writing skills. They provide mark-making implements and encourage children to draw. Staff show toddlers how to create lines and circles with chalk, and they quickly copy this. Children give meaning to the marks they make with paint and pens.
• Staff provide very good opportunities for children to play and learn outdoors. All children enjoy daily outdoor play and scheduled time in the forest area. Staff develop children's interest in nature. For example, they encourage children to search for minibeasts and to describe the texture of trees and leaves. Staff model how to create a waterfall. Children learn to fill the top tier container sufficiently with water to make it tip and run into lower tiers. Children work together to scoop, fill and pour using various utensils. Children dig and transfer mud and bark in toy dumper trucks, supported by staff who introduce positional language and help toddlers describe which truck is 'bigger' and 'smaller'.
• The management team has a good overview of where each child is in their learning but monitoring of the effectiveness of the curriculum lacks vigour. As a result, they do not successfully ensure that the most able children are fully challenged to extend their learning further. For example, staff know that some children show impressive counting skills and mathematical awareness but do not instinctively introduce more complex mathematical concepts as they go about their play.
• Parents praise the support their children receive from staff. They feel well informed about their children's learning and appreciate the regular online updates and photos that give them an insight into their children's experiences.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• monitor the effectiveness of the curriculum more closely to ensure every child, including the most able, are suitably challenged to maximise their learning.