Honey Pot Nursery Wavertree

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thrive at this incredible nursery. They demonstrate high levels of engagement and impeccable behaviour. Due to Covid-19, parents currently do not enter the nursery. Children adapted seamlessly to this change. They enter happily and full of excitement, ready to engross themselves in play. Staff are dedicated, nurturing and highly skilled. They know children exceptionally well and plan activities and experiences that support them to make excellent progress in their learning.

Communication and language development is promoted particularly well. Children's range of vocabulary is impressive. They discuss how they intend to grow a 'ginormous' watermelon in their growing area. Children talk about the importance of sharing resources to ensure there are no 'altercations'. Staff immerse children in a language rich environment. They consistently model new and interesting words during play. This helps children to develop a broad and varied vocabulary in preparation for school.

Children, parents and staff work in partnership to form an 'eco-committee'. They have regular meetings to discuss the importance of looking after the environment and being eco-friendly. Children learn about recycling, how to save energy and the harm caused by single use plastics. They are rapidly gaining new knowledge about the world they live in.

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

• Leaders are inspirational. The dedication they give to providing high-quality care and education is admirable. The flexible curriculum is well thought out, ambitious and exciting for children. It is perfectly embedded throughout the nursery and successfully builds on and extends children's prior knowledge. Knowledgeable staff carefully implement and adapt teaching to meet children's individual needs. They skilfully intervene at appropriate times to add value to children's learning and challenge their thinking skills even further. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, are incredibly well prepared for the next stage in their learning.
• Children are at the heart of decision making at this nursery. Leaders regularly seek out and place high value on children's views and opinions. Termly pre-school committee meetings allow children the opportunity to make important decisions. They discuss menu changes, environment organisation, trips and resource purchases. Children are learning to negotiate, compromise and respect the opinions of others. These are important skills they need for the future.
• Literacy development is a strength at the nursery. Children have access to a wealth of books. They learn about the difference between fiction and non- fiction. Children use 'story stones' to create their own story about space. They explore the different planets using the interactive board and discuss why Saturn has a ring. Children create their own list of space 'super words', such as 'meteorite, astronaut' and 'solar system'. They practise early writing skills as they work hard to make marks that represent these words.
• Children play harmoniously together. Older children discuss how they can 'work as a team' to join their artwork together and make it bigger. They share ideas and have learned the importance of being polite and considerate towards each other. Despite their young age, two-year-old children are exceptionally patient when waiting for their turn to use the interactive board. They listen carefully to instructions from staff and show genuine happiness for each other when they successfully draw a circle.
• Well-qualified staff carefully weave learning opportunities into exciting activities. For instance, as children become engrossed in creating Rangoli art, staff introduce mathematical concepts, such as repeating patterns. Children benefit from high-quality interactions and deepen their understanding of how Rangoli art is used during the festival of Diwali.
• Coaching and mentoring for staff is first class. Leaders create bespoke training that carefully matches staff's individual learning styles. They provide regular 'modelling practice sessions' to demonstrate what exceptional practice looks like. Staff regularly access podcasts, videos, literature and research. This helps them to consistently deliver the highest quality of education for children.
• Children are very well prepared for life in modern Britain. Staff teach them the importance of equality and diversity in ways that are appropriate to their age and stage of development. Children recall what they learned about the Paralympics and the strength and motivation of amputees. They explore similarities and differences between people in practical ways. For instance, children use a wide range of materials to explore and create the hair textures of people from different cultures.