Into-Play @ Barnwood

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are welcomed into the nursery by the kind and caring staff team. They display secure attachments with staff and settle promptly into their play. Children access a well-sequenced curriculum, which builds on what they already know and can do. They display positive attitudes to learning and are eager to explore the inviting activities on offer indoors and outdoors. Babies explore a range of sensory experiences. They practise how to balance as they stand at the tray and excitedly splash in soapy water. Children smile and giggle at staff who sing familiar songs to them. They anticipate familiar phrases and clap their hands as staff enthusiastically sing 'bubble, bubble, pop'.

Children behave well. They understand staff's expectations and respond well to their clear instructions. Children learn that they must use their walking feet inside and should use kind hands when playing with their friends. They develop good social skills. Children learn to take turns as staff support children to participate in small-group activities. They are developing their mathematical skills. Children count and sort small teddy bears into groups based on their size and colour. Older children are well prepared for the move to school. They display high levels of focus and concentration during adult-led activities. Children develop their small-muscle strength and hand-to-eye coordination in preparation for early writing. They persist as they use pincer tools to extract pieces of paper and plastic from the water tray.

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

• The key-person system is effective. Staff get to know children and their families well. They liaise with parents when children first begin to attend to find out about their routines at home and information about children's prior learning. Staff use this information to plan activities to support their progress from the start of their attendance.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported well. Staff work in partnership with parents and external professionals. This helps to ensure that children receive the support that they need to make the best possible progress and are ready for the next step in their educational journey.
• Staff share information with parents about children's learning in a range of ways, such as through daily discussions, online learning journals and face-to-face meetings. Parents speak highly of the nursery and the staff team. They feel informed about children's experiences at the nursery and know what they need to learn next. Staff support parents to continue children's learning at home. For example, they add videos of sign language to support parents to practise this with their children at home.
• Leaders and managers place a strong emphasis on the well-being of the staff team. They share positive feedback with them regularly, which helps them to feel valued and appreciated. Parents are invited to share their appreciation for staff. They complete 'shout out to staff' slips to share their gratitude. Staff report that they enjoy their role and describe the team as 'a big family'.
• The nursery builds effective links with the local schools. Staff invite Reception teachers to visit the nursery and get to know children in their own surroundings. This helps children to develop an early bond with their new teacher and promotes their emotional well-being during this transition. Once children have moved on to school and are settled, pre-school children are invited to visit their peers in the Reception class. This helps children to know what to expect when the time comes for them to move on to school.
• Staff adapt their interactions appropriately to support children who speak English as an additional language. Children display an understanding of key phrases and join in with routine activities, such as song time. However, staff do not always provide them with enough opportunities to hear or use their home language in nursery, in order to further support their early communication and language skills.
• Staff support children's understanding of healthy practices. They help them to follow good hygiene routines, such as washing their hands before mealtimes. However, on occasions, staff interrupt children's learning to complete everyday routines. For example, they disturb some children's engagement to take them to wash their hands and sit at the table, while their peers continue to participate in group singing activities.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance opportunities for children to hear and use their home language to fully support their communication and language development
• review some daily routines, such as mealtimes, to reduce interruptions to activities and maximise learning opportunities for all children.