Imagine...Creative Early Years Nursey

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children at this nursery make exceptional progress. They are active participants in their own learning. Leaders implement a curriculum that enables even the youngest of children to begin to learn the skills that will later prepare them for their move to school and beyond.

The materials available to children are vast and varied. The open-ended nature of them ensures that children can find something to satisfy their curiosity and direct their learning. As a result, children become fully immersed in their play. Children have access to equipment, such as projectors and light boxes, that give them further in-depth knowledge of the properties and features of materials. Staff show children how light and dark work together, for example, using bright materials on dark paper. Leaders have high aspirations for all children. They understand that children need time and space to process information, and this is afforded to them according to their current capabilities. This enables children to become masters in the skills they learn. Enthusiasm for learning envelops the whole nursery.

Babies settle remarkably well. They show extremely high levels of confidence even in the presence of unfamiliar adults. They express how secure and safe they feel with staff through their interactions during play. Staff are highly attuned to children's needs. They provide a nurturing environment where children thrive from the earliest stage of their nursery journey.

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

• The nursery curriculum is based around the relationship between materials and children's learning. The extensive knowledge leaders have about how children learn is evident in the way children are taught by staff. Staff afford children the time to fully develop their ideas and thinking. Teaching is of the highest level. Staff extend projects children are working on so that they have chance to return to their creation's multiple times, which enables them to fully consolidate their learning. As a result, children make rapid progress in their development.
• Children are highly skilled at problem-solving. The arrangement of the environment, coupled with the materials children are exposed to, facilitates the awakening of children's imagination and creativity. They learn to use items in a variety of ways and discover how a piece of rubber can be used to construct both a road and a building. Babies begin to think critically as they use tubing as tunnels for cars. They quickly discover that lifting the tubing makes the cars move through the tunnel and travel out the other end. As a result, children become sophisticated agents of their own learning.
• Staff successfully engage in respectful relationships with children. They inform babies when they are going to wipe their faces and pay regard to their personal care routines. This builds the foundations for children's understanding of showing consideration to others. Older children work cooperatively with one another and display patience when waiting for their turn during play. Staff help children to understand that turn-taking features in all aspects of their behaviours, such as waiting for their friends to talk and contribute during storytelling sessions. As a result, children become compassionate and show empathy towards others.
• The outdoor environment further acts as a learning space for children. Children learn to assess risks and make new discoveries. The opportunities to explore the natural environment ignites curiosity in children. They discover small creatures and make practical items for them, such as 'potties'. Children confidently navigate different levels of ground and develop their core strength as they balance and jump from equipment at different heights. The designated areas for planting teach children about growing and the importance of the natural environment. Children show high levels of pleasure when playing with their friends outdoors.
• Leaders are inspirational. They provide outstanding opportunities for children's learning. They reflect on every aspect of the nursery regularly and continually ensure that the environment and the experiences they offer are evolving, along with the needs of the children who attend. They base their practice on evidence-based research and evaluate how their knowledge can be threaded through the nursery. They recognise strengths in themselves and the staff team and use this expertise to continuously improve the teaching of children. Leaders constructively challenge one another to ensure that what they do is having the most significant impact on outcomes for children.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) make rapid progress. Delays in children's development are identified at the earliest opportunity, and leaders act swiftly to ensure that external support is in place. They work closely with parents to ensure that support for children is consistent across all environments and take on board advice from professionals.
• Arrangements for supervising and mentoring staff are particularly successful. Staff are highly valued and invested in. The approach leaders take to develop the staff team is innovative and highly successful. Newly qualified staff have levels of knowledge that are extraordinary for their level of experience. This is credited to the support they receive from substantially experienced leaders.
• Parents are extremely complimentary about the nursery. They comment on the rapid progress children make in short periods. They feel listened to and valued as parents. They say that settling-in sessions are adapted to meet their children's needs so that they feel safe and secure with staff. Leaders work closely with parents and ensure that they develop a secure and trusting relationship with them. This ensures that there are the highest levels of consistency for children.