Hornsey Day Nursery - Toddlers & Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are warmly welcomed into this friendly setting by the kind and attentive staff. They enter with confidence and are eager to start their day. Children show that they feel safe and secure as they put away their belongings, greet their friends and settle down to play. Staff have high expectations for all children's behaviour and learning. They use consistent reminders to help children understand the rules and boundaries. Children are friendly, polite and helpful. They quickly become familiar with the routines, such as lining up before going into the garden. Therefore, they follow these independently and play in a calm and harmonious learning environment.

Children benefit from a varied curriculum that helps to build on what they know and can do. They enjoy lots of opportunities to practise speaking and listening. For instance, staff model new words and repeat these back clearly for children to practise saying. They incorporate words and phrases from children's home languages into the songs and activities. This helps all children, including those who speak English as an additional language, to become confident and effective communicators. Older children demonstrate broad vocabularies and are keen to share their ideas. For example, they excitedly describe the features of their vegetable plants and how these have grown from seeds.

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

• Leaders and staff have a clear vision and secure plans for the setting. They work together effectively to ensure that practice continuously evolves and develops. For example, they have recently introduced interactive 'floor books' to help children contribute their ideas and reflect on their learning. The manager describes how this helps staff to identify children's interests and plan an exciting curriculum.
• All staff know the children very well. They use information from parents and their ongoing assessments to support children's next steps in learning. Staff are quick to recognise where children may need additional help to make the best progress. They work with parents and outside agencies to identify children's needs and provide relevant and consistent support.
• Children show high levels of independence and manage their personal care needs extremely well. For example, younger children become adept at serving their food and drinks at mealtimes. Older children know how to take care of their belongings and manage their personal hygiene independently. These important skills provide children with a good foundation for starting school.
• Staff demonstrate a good range of teaching skills as they interact with the children. For instance, they give clear explanations, demonstrate how to use resources and praise children for their efforts. However, sometimes in their enthusiasm to teach children, staff interrupt children's thought processes by offering their own knowledge and solutions. Therefore, children miss out on opportunities to explore their own ideas, solve problems and discover things for themselves.
• Children thoroughly enjoy their play and show positive attitudes to their learning. For example, they demonstrate good social skills and imagination, as they pretend to make food from play dough. Children display an awareness of safety as they say, 'be careful it's very hot'. They spontaneously use their mathematical skills to decide how long their food will take to cook and how many candles to add to a birthday cake.
• The books and resources in the setting represent a variety of backgrounds and cultures. Therefore, children develop their interest and understanding of different people and communities. Staff also find out about children's experiences at home and ensure that these are included in the curriculum. For example, activities reflect the important religious and cultural events that children celebrate with their families. This adds to children's sense of belonging and boosts their self-esteem.
• Staff support children's emotional well-being extremely well. Children regularly explore their feelings during discussions, stories and role-play. Consequently, they speak fluently about a wide range of emotions and are sensitive to the feelings of others. This helps them to moderate their behaviour and express themselves in positive ways.
• Parents describe good relationships with the friendly staff. They say that they are kept well informed about their children's learning experiences and are very happy with the progress that they make. Parents appreciate the positive approach to healthy lifestyles in the setting. They say that their children benefit from eating healthy meals and lots of outdoor play.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop staff's understanding of how to support children's independent thinking, exploration and problem solving, to further enhance the good quality of the learning experiences.