Hui, Mrs Kimberley Maureen

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children and their families are individually greeted as they arrive. Children show excitement as they confidently share things of personal significance with familiar staff. This builds their positive sense of belonging. Staff thoughtfully organise the environment that is ambitious and exciting for all children. They plan and provide a range of stimulating activities and play experiences that supports children's individual learning and intertwines their interests. As such, children are quick to become immersed in their explorations and show motivation to join in and learn. This supports all children to make good progress in their learning.

Staff are positive role models to children. They have high, but appropriate expectations of children's behaviour. They provide gentle reminders and apply a consistent approach to support children as they learn to understand their growing emotions. This contributes to children's good behaviour. Children who find it difficult to understand their own feelings are well supported by attentive staff. This supports all children's growing understanding of behavioural expectations as they learn right from wrong.

Leaders and staff recognise the importance of children's emotional well-being. They work hard to establish secure attachments with children. Babies snuggle in as they receive comforting cuddles. Older children confidently seek out staff to share play ideas and seek support when needed. Staff are responsive and respectful of children. For instance, they ask permission to wipe noses and do so gently. This helps children feel valued and safe.

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

• All staff work closely to create a nurturing and homely environment. Leaders ensure regular and effective staff supervision sessions are in place with an emphasis on staffs' well-being. Ongoing training is available for staff to expand their own continued professional development. This supports staff to be effective in their roles as they continually learn and reflect, finding ways to enhance children's learning even further.
• All staff plan and deliver a well-thought-out curriculum that includes meaningful experiences across all areas of learning. Staff know what children have learned, and what they want to teach them next and why. They work together to ensure children's individual next steps are always considered and reinforced. This supports children to succeed in their future learning.
• Generally, staff provide a language-rich environment. Younger children are exposed to purposefully modelled language and opportunities to join in with familiar rhymes and songs. Staff are interactive in their expressions and gestures which babies gravitate too. Older children's vocabulary is enriched by back-and- forth conversations as they are exposed to new words to broaden their vocabulary. However, there are times when staff ask children questions in quick succession. This does not give children enough time to process language or enable them to respond and contribute their own thoughts and ideas.
• The provision for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is strong. Staff work swiftly to make timely referrals to external agencies and provide ongoing support and guidance for parents. Children's individual needs are consistently well considered. For instance, children independently use accessible visual prompts to indicate to staff their needs and wants. These adaptions help to ensure that a tailored approach to each child's learning and development is effective. This means children with SEND make the progress they are capable of.
• Children demonstrate positive attitudes to learning. They show curiosity and enjoy taking part in the different learning experiences available to them. For instance, older children use their imagination as they practise using chopsticks to pick up their pretend noodles. Children recall this information as they have been learning about Chinese New Year. However, leaders do not always consider how some group times are organised. For instance, during these times, some staff undertake other routine tasks. Consequently, they are not always available to provide the ongoing support and guidance children need to remain focused. As a result, some children become distracted and lose interest in their learning.
• Partnership with families is at the heart of this nursery. All staff work hard to provide a safe and friendly space for children and their families to thrive. They provide considerable support for parents and carers, helping them navigate each stage of their children's personalised journey. Leaders value being a positive part of the local community and continually consider ways this can be enhanced even further. Parents speak highly of the nurturing care and education their children receive.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to develop their teaching skills even further so that they consistently give children time to think and respond to questions
• review the organisation of group times to ensure that staff fully engage children to help them remain focused on their learning.