Holly Lodge Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive at nursery with excitement and enthusiasm. They receive a warm welcome from the friendly and caring staff team. This nurturing approach really helps them to feel at ease and settle in quickly. Staff praise children for their efforts, helping to build their self-esteem and confidence. Children become increasingly independent when choosing resources and relating to others. They enjoy looking at books and reading with staff who repeat new words, sing number songs and encourage discussions with children as they play. Children use good manners and share equipment well. They are secure and know the routines of the day. For example, when staff begin to sing a familiar song, children know it is time to stop and come together for circle time.

Children have plenty of opportunities for physical play and fresh air, both in the outdoor play area and during regular outings. Outdoors, they dig in the sand and splash in the water. They thoroughly enjoy balancing, and laughing with excitement as they follow each other in a circuit. Staff have high expectations for children. They create a warm and friendly nursery, where children are safe and emotionally secure. Staff enable children to share a wide range of natural materials, to discover, explore, learn and enhance their skills at their own pace. Staff promote children's communication and language well. This includes those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff talk to children and ask questions that encourage them to think. They focus on promoting children's language, and a love of books is skilfully woven throughout the nursery.

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

• The manager supports staff effectively with regular well-being and supervision meetings. This includes prioritising time for professional development to help staff build on the skills they plan to develop.
• Leaders, managers and staff are ambitious. They reflect effectively on the overall effectiveness of the nursery and how they can continue to develop and improve. They are looking forward to the exciting plans to develop the outdoor play area. They gather feedback from the local authority coordinator, parents and children and use this to identify improvements. Parents comment very positively about the nursery. They say that their children cannot wait to attend each day.
• Overall, staff plan good quality activities that support children to make progress in all aspects of their development. They know the children well and gather relevant information about what children know and can do from the time they start. Staff use this information alongside their own observations to provide opportunities that help develop children's next steps in learning.
• Children demonstrate positive self-esteem and emotional well-being. Children form trusting attachments with their key person, who helps them to develop relationships with other children. Staff have a secure knowledge of children's personal circumstances, which helps to ensure that children, including the youngest, are settled and their individual routines and needs are met.
• Staff provide children with enjoyable opportunities and have previously supported them to develop and use their home languages as they play. The manager and staff agree that this is not so visible in the environment or reflected in learning intentions currently.
• Staff help children to get the best start in their early education effectively. They use the curriculum to plan experiences for children to help develop their understanding of the local community. They widen children's current experiences from home to support their learning. For example, they take children on outings locally to extend their exploratory skills and to learn about the world around them. Staff encourage children to talk about pictures they have created with glue and shapes for their Chinese New Year celebration.
• Children develop independence from an early age. They use their personal skills successfully, for example, when getting their drinks, helping themselves at snack time and when putting their coats on. Children learn to take care of their own safety. For example, they know how to negotiate the outside space and different levels as they play physically. They learn to show respect and kindness, and develop early friendships. However, there is opportunity to improve the communication and engagement between staff and children, especially when in large groups during the outdoor play session.
• Staff teach children how to keep themselves healthy. Children discuss the benefits of a eating a healthy diet as they help to chop up their fresh fruit at snack time. When staff announce that the snack table is open, older children spontaneously go to the bathroom to wash their hands. This demonstrates their good understanding of positive hygiene routines.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review the organisation of some adult-led activities outdoors, particularly to help children remain more focused and engaged in their learning and play
• support children who speak English as an additional language to use their home language further as they play and learn, to support their language at home.