Into Nature Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happy and settle quickly in this small and friendly nursery. Staff's interaction with children is warm, caring and nurturing, which helps the children to feel safe. Children who are new to the nursery settle well into routines that meet their individual needs and match those at home. Older children are confident, well behaved, and kind and considerate to each other. They remind each other of the rules they have developed, such as 'kind hands' and 'slow feet inside'.

Story times are a delight. Toddlers and older children sit together to share a story and join in with parts that they know well. There is lots of laughter as the staff animatedly read the stories. Children creatively use props to recreate the story in their own way, for example they use sticks as brooms and 'whoosh' around the garden area. They invite their friends by saying, 'There's room on my broom.' In addition, they fill containers with leaves and stones to make a potion to free the witch. They continue to use the vocabulary they have learned and develop their imagination, while playing cooperatively.

Children's understanding of mathematical language is developed effectively. For instance, children are encouraged to identify the 'biggest' and 'smallest' pumpkins. Children compare sizes and use words, such as 'huge' and 'enormous'. Children have positive attitudes to learning and they make good progress.

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

• Parents speak with great enthusiasm about the provision. They comment that the nursery is a 'home-from-home' setting and that they feel part of an 'exclusive club' because of the small numbers of children and the tailored care that their child receives.
• The staff supported children and their families when they were not able to attend nursery during the national lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, they provided parents with activity ideas that they could use at home with their children. The manager has reflected on this and introduced a permanent online journal for parents to have better access to their child's learning. Both the manager and parents report that this has improved partnership working to benefit the outcomes for children. This has also reduced staff workload.
• Overall, staff develop children's language and communication effectively. They introduce new vocabulary and talk about the meaning of new words. Occasionally, when younger children say single words when they are learning to talk, staff do not build on children's use of a single word to develop their understanding of how words link together to make a sentence.
• The manager understands what children should learn and how this can be achieved as they progress through the nursery. Staff share this vision and work as a team to help every child achieve their goals. Staff benefit from regular professional development opportunities. The manager encourages them to complete additional qualifications to improve their practice. For instance, some staff have attended specific courses to support the development of babies.
• Staff assess children's learning and monitor the progress they make before planning more experiences. However, during some small group activities too many staff are involved. For example, at snack time, one staff member encourages the children to count how many children are present, while another asks if they would like milk or water. Consequently, children do not always understand the expectations and so they do not respond appropriately.
• Staff provide children with opportunities to develop a range of skills, which help them to become independent. For instance, children learn how to hold and cut with scissors in a safe way, connect resources using tape and glue as well as paint in a variety of ways. Children are then able to apply these new skills in their own play as they create houses and castles with recycled boxes.
• Staff find ways to utilise expertise from the community to help broaden children's experiences. For example, community visitors, such as police officers, attend to talk to children about their job. Children are confident to tell visitors that the police, 'help you if you are lost, if you are in trouble or if there is a thief'.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance staff's ability to build on children's speaking to enable them to better support children to begin to use chains of words and sentences
• support staff to identify when to take the lead during adult-led activities to ensure that children are given clear and consistent information at all times.