Hunderton Neighbourhood Nursery & Kids Club

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children who attend this setting make good progress in their learning from their individual starting points. They settle quickly and form close relationships with staff and their friends. They quickly engage in activities and are motivated and curious learners. Babies investigate as they turn the knobs on a toy cooker and squeal with excitement as they pop bubbles. Older children experiment as they use scales to weigh different numbers of blocks to see which are the heaviest. They learn mathematical concepts as staff introduce words, such as 'more', 'less' and 'the same'.

Children's behaviour is good. Older children learn to negotiate with each other and to take turns and share with their friends. For example, when riding a two-seater bicycle, they decide who will sit at the front and who will sit at the back. After a short time, they agree to swap so that they have both had a turn in each position. Children have fun as they learn. They develop their imagination as they dress up as firefighters and use hoses to put out a pretend fire. Staff involve themselves in children's play. They introduce new language and put pictures of a fire around the room for children to find and put out.

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

• Significant progress has been made since the last inspection. The manager, deputy and staff have worked as a team to implement change. They have worked closely with the local authority and acted on their advice to help them reflect on their practice and make improvements. As a result, previous actions have been met and quality is consistently good. However, all of the changes need to be fully consolidated and embedded into practice to ensure that quality continues to improve.
• The manager has a clear overview of the curriculum and what she wants children to learn. Her expectations are shared by staff. Staff plan activities based on children's stage of development and individual learning needs. Activities are differentiated to meet the learning styles and needs of older and younger children in each group. Staff observe and assess children to identify their stage of development and next steps for learning.
• The support for children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is exceptional, and this is a real strength of the setting. Staff work closely with outside agencies and professionals and act on their advice to ensure children make the best possible progress they are capable of. Funding is spent appropriately to provide additional resources and equipment to benefit children with SEND.
• Children's communication is given high priority. Staff continually talk to the children and encourage them to respond. The special educational needs coordinator has attended training and introduces a range of activities to support children to develop their language skills. Children thoroughly enjoy looking at books and listening to stories. Older children sit in a cosy den and share books with their friends. Younger children snuggle up to staff as they listen to a story and help to turn the pages. Such opportunities support children's progress and helps them to develop a love of books.
• Children make choices in their play. They play in the water tray as they fill and empty containers. They construct using a variety of materials and paint using implements such as a potato masher. At times, staff do not fully extend children's learning during activities to help them make even better progress.
• Children's health is promoted well. They enjoy healthy meals and snacks and access outdoors every day. A display of food packaging highlights to parents the amount of sugar in different foods. Older children brush their teeth and learn about the importance of good oral hygiene.
• Parents speak highly of the care and learning their children receive. They say that the manager and staff go above and beyond to ensure that children and their families are valued and respected as individuals. Activities are provided to encourage parents to continue with their child's learning at home. Where parents need adaptations to resources to enable them to be fully involved, these are swiftly put in place. Weekly activities, such as the 'story and song' and 'words of the week', are displayed for parents. However, staff do not consistently ensure that all parents have access to this information to enable them to fully engage in their child's learning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• consolidate and embed the recent changes to ensure that practice continues to improve
• support staff to understand how to fully extend children's learning so that they make even better progress
• review how information is shared with parents to enable them to be even more involved in their child's learning.