Horspath Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children show that they are happy, settled and secure in the calm, friendly and welcoming nursery. They develop positive relationships with staff, who know children well and are attentive to their needs. Children are keen and curious learners. They benefit from exciting opportunities to try new things and show high levels of energy and motivation as they play. Children concentrate well and show resilience as they persevere at tasks. They try hard not to give up when faced with challenges. Children demonstrate a keenness to find out more about nature. For example, they learn about the life cycle of a frog as they go pond dipping for tadpoles or build a den from sticks.

Children learn a wide range of skills in readiness for starting school. They show an impressive knowledge of the sounds that letters make and they write with skill and purpose. Staff have high expectations of children. They are strong role models for children and provide effective support for their emotional well-being. Children's behaviour is very good. They build strong friendships with their peers and relish opportunities to play together in imaginative games. Nurturing staff help children learn that their opinions matter. They sensitively support children to understand how to manage their feelings when their view differs from their friends.

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

• The dedicated manager provides strong leadership for the staff team. She uses her expertise and professional qualifications effectively to motivate a staff team that is dedicated to providing the best possible start for all children. The manager ensures ongoing professional development for all staff, including those new to the nursery, so that they develop their skills and knowledge further. Staff successfully use the knowledge and skills they gain through training. For example, training in phonics and letter formation supports children's continued good development in literacy, in readiness for their move to school.
• Children benefit from good levels of staff interaction and support. Staff creatively design a curriculum that takes into account children's preferred learning styles and which motivates children in their learning. Staff spend purposeful time with children, helping them build on what they know and can do. However, support for children during activities is not always precise enough to ensure that they are challenged to the highest level. Despite this, all children, including those in receipt of additional funding and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make good progress overall.
• Staff place a strong focus on developing children's literacy skills and love of books. They imaginatively recount familiar stories, adopting the voices of the characters. Children become enthralled as the story develops. They eagerly chant along, with a good recall of the storyline, showing a wide vocabulary.
• Children's good health is promoted effectively. They benefit immensely from the excellent challenges offered to them as they play outside. The well-planned range of outdoor play experiences captures the interest of groups of children effectively, such as older boys, who sustain their concentration well. Children are helped to understand how to keep themselves and others safe. They enjoy sitting in the sunshine and building towers with their friends.
• Partnerships with parents are strong. Parents speak highly of the nursery and the support for their children. Staff ensure an effective two-way flow of information that supports children's learning well. They use a wide range of ways to get parents involved in their children's learning, including through the online system and video consultations. Staff successfully work with the on-site school to ensure consistency in their approach to their curriculum. They work effectively with other professionals to provide swift intervention and precise support when children need them.
• The committee holds good oversight of the management of the nursery. It ensures effective accountability of staff's use of additional funding and ensures that children have full access to their entitlement to early education. The committee monitors the performance of staff, including the manager, to ensure the smooth day-to-day operation of the nursery. It holds staff to account if any concerns are raised and ensures matters are attended to swiftly. Staff comment that they feel supported and their workload is managed well.