Holly Corner Kindergarten

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff provide a calm, loving and nurturing environment, where they celebrate and embrace children's personalities and interests. Children show they feel loved, valued and respected. They settle well and form positive and caring relationships with staff. Staff talk proudly about the children. Children thoroughly enjoy their time at the nursery. They make friends easily and form positive relationships with staff. Children speak fondly about their peers. They talk about their friends' bumblebee costumes and how lovely they look. Children play games with each other, make up their own narratives and actively seek out others to join their play.

Staff provide ample opportunities for children to develop their gross and fine motor skills. Outside, children balance on beams, jump on pads, compete in physical games and learn to climb on different levels of terrain. Children use tongs to pick things up, such as food, at snack time. Children are very well behaved and know what is expected of them. They listen to instructions and learn patience, kindness and respect. Children develop good levels of independence. Staff support even the youngest of children with carrying out tasks for themselves, such as handwashing and blowing their noses. Staff encourage children's curiosity about the world around them. Children love learning facts, such as that bees 'have six legs' and they 'go home to the queen'. Staff support babies' language skills really well. They repeat their babbles, add new words and use positional language, such as 'under' and 'on top', throughout play.

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

• The management team are passionate about children's early education. They work closely together, and with other professionals, to ensure a collaborative approach that benefits all children and their families.
• Staff's well-being is given high priority. Staff comment that they feel valued and cared for at the nursery. They can approach the leaders any time to discuss concerns or ask for support. Staff's achievements are celebrated and their skills used effectively to enhance children's development.
• Support for children with special educations needs and/or disabilities is strong. Staff know the children well and help them to settle into an inclusive environment. They work closely with outside professionals to ensure that children get all the support they need to make good progress. Leaders and staff use funding effectively to purchase resources that have a positive impact on children's progress and experiences.
• Staff embrace children's interests and encourage their creative freedom. A painting activity about bees turns into a body-painting activity. Staff embrace children's fascination with how it feels and what patterns they can make. Children enjoy exploring the items in the water tray, such as shells and leaves.
• Children extend their own learning and enjoyment, removing their socks and seeing how the water feels on their feet. Children excitedly splash and giggle with each other. Staff are close by, supporting their learning and exploration of the activity.
• Staff form strong and effective partnerships with parents. They keep parents informed of their children's progress and fully involve them in any decisions that impact their children's needs. Staff focus on support for the whole family, as they know that this benefits children the most. Parents comment that they would recommend the nursery to other parents.
• Staff provide a very well-resourced environment that sparks children's curiosity and enthusiasm to learn. Children experience a wide variety of activities that ignite children's senses and support their early brain development. For example, children enjoy scooping and pouring gloop and painting with natural and household objects.
• Staff get to know children well and identify any gaps that are emerging. They use what they know about children's interests and levels of development to plan activities that support them to make good progress in all areas of learning. During some interactions, when some staff ask questions, they speak before children have had time to formulate their responses. This means children have fewer opportunities to develop their language and thinking skills.
• Children learn to adopt a healthy lifestyle. They are provided with healthy nutritious meals each day, regular exercise, and they take part in cooking activities with the nursery chef, who helps them learn about the importance of a balanced diet and where food comes from.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• build on the already good plans in place to monitor staff's practice to raise the quality of teaching to the highest level.