Hollin Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff form loving and nurturing bonds with the children. They have created an environment where children are confident to explore and express themselves freely. Staff provide children with a range of experiences that give them opportunities to make choices and build their independence. Throughout the nursery, children can be heard giggling and socialising with staff. They are forming strong and secure relationships.

Staff implement a broad and interesting curriculum that engages children in learning. Babies develop their hand muscles as staff encourage them to freely explore paint. Older children investigate autumn resources with a member of staff as they learn about ordering objects by size. Children proudly express their understanding as they explain how their pumpkin 'is the middle one'. Children demonstrate enthusiasm in learning new things.

Staff encourage children to develop positive interactions with others. From a young age, children are encouraged to be kind to their peers. Staff teach children skills, such as turn taking and sharing, as they play with their friends in the sand. They help children to understand how to manage their own behaviour through positive reinforcement. For example, children show pride when they receive a sticker on the 'happy sunshine' for good behaviour. Children behave well.

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

• The manager has designed a curriculum that prepares children for the next stage in their learning. Staff implement this well. They introduce a range of experiences to support children to build on their prior learning. For example, when a toy car gets stuck in the garage, staff encourage children to think critically about how they might get it out. All children are making good progress.
• Overall, staff promote children's communication and language well. Staff read stories with babies, encouraging them to say key words as they point to them. They expose older children to a social environment and ask them purposeful questions that encourage them to explain their understanding. However, staff do not consistently model language to a high standard. This results in children not always being able to hear all the sounds in words clearly.
• Children who speak English as an additional language are supported in a range of ways. For example, staff learn familiar words and use pictures to support children's understanding. The manager and staff use different techniques to be able to communicate with parents. As such, parents are aware of how their children are developing and are able to discuss their care needs. As a result, children settle well and are developing new vocabulary.
• Staff provide children with a variety of awe-inspiring experiences. They teach children about the world around them through trips into the local community. Children learn about floating and sinking as they experiment with objects in the river. They develop their physical skills from fun activities in the forest. Children are developing positive attitudes to learning.
• There is an effective key-person system in place. Staff create a calm and loving environment for children. Throughout the nursery, children beam with smiling faces as they interact with their key person. Staff spend quality time working with their key children to form strong bonds and build on their development. Children display feelings of safety and security.
• The manager continually reflects on ways to improve the nursery. She spends a lot of time working in the rooms, modelling practice and observing how the curriculum is being implemented for the children. Training and staff progression are at the very heart of this nursery. Consequently, this has led to a reflective team, which consistently works to improve the outcomes for children.
• Parent partnerships are a strength of this nursery. Parents have a good understanding of what their children are learning and feel well supported. Staff provide parents with a range of advice and guidance, such as ideas to develop learning at home and ways to support their children's health and well-being. This results in effective continuity in the children's care and education.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to consistently and clearly model the correct sounds in words to enhance children's communication and language development.