Ivegill Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are cherished in the very caring and inclusive nursery. They arrive excited to share their news from home. Staff use these opportunities exceptionally well to extend children's learning. For instance, children excitedly talk about lambs on their farm and the building of a new bridge that they saw on their way to nursery. Children are then provided with resources to explore these concepts further. Staff plan and implement a highly ambitious, vibrant curriculum, which is responsive to the unique interests and learning needs of all children. Children are extremely happy. The sound of happy chatter and laughter resonates around the nursery. Children demonstrate that they feel safe and secure in the company of those who care for and educate them. They are immersed in a range of outstanding opportunities, where they thrive and achieve extremely well across all areas of learning.

Children's emotional well-being is paramount and exceptionally well supported by staff. Staff consistently support children to develop the knowledge and skills they require to behave well and display positive attitudes towards learning. Children learn to share resources and wait their turn. When they find things tricky, staff swiftly use consistent strategies to support them. As a result, children display exemplary behaviour and manners. They are kind and caring towards one another and form good friendships.

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

• The leadership and management of the nursery is inspirational. The whole team is dedicated and passionate about providing a high-quality, nurturing provision where all children thrive. The management team has an excellent overview of the nursery and is extremely ambitious in their quest to be even better. As a result, children have outstanding opportunities to learn and achieve extremely well across all areas of learning.
• Staff receive ongoing targeted levels of support and guidance from the managers, who work passionately alongside them. They have embedded a rigorous and highly effective system to support and monitor the development of the team. All staff say that they feel exceptionally valued and have the support and training they require to perform to their full potential.
• Staff observe and monitor children's progress extremely effectively. This enables them to identify children who might be at risk of falling behind and carefully target support to help them to catch up. Consequently, those who had limited speech have developed and extended their vocabulary exceptionally well. Children who previously struggled to separate from their parents confidently wave goodbye and quickly engage in their play.
• The curriculum is implemented exceptionally well. This includes stimulating activities that captivate children's interests to move their learning forward. For instance, children are full of wonder as they explore how plants grow. They use their widening vocabulary to reflect on their learning, and use number language confidently to count and compare size. Children's strong engagement impacts significantly on their learning.
• Literacy is promoted tremendously well. Children listen carefully with anticipation as stories unfold. Staff bring stories to life through their carefully sequenced teaching opportunities. For example, children develop their understanding of object and action words as they play with props and act out the 'Three Billy Goats Gruff' story together. Children develop a love of books, which builds strong foundations for future reading.
• The curriculum for personal development is highly effective. Children have a wealth of opportunities to develop their independence and learn how to stay healthy. They learn about looking after their teeth, supported by a visit from the dentist. Children confidently dress themselves to go outside. They follow highly effective hygiene routines after going to the toilet. This prepares children well for their move to school.
• Staff provide children with excellent opportunities to develop their large- and small-muscle skills. Children demonstrate agility as they throw balls, climb and balance, and draw roads with large chalks to extend their play. They move confidently and vigorously as they control their bodies and 'transform' from robot to a car, dressed in the costumes they have proudly crafted from boxes. This helps them to engage in regular exercise and develop coordination.
• Children are fascinated by the world around them. They delight in learning the names of countries as they talk about their favourite animals and find them on the map. They enjoy frequent walks in their local community, where they meet new people. These opportunities help to extend children's knowledge of themselves, others and the diverse world they live in, and they develop respect and tolerance of others.
• Parent partnership is superb. Staff are highly effective in using information that parents share to plan for children's future progression. Parents are kept extremely well informed of their children's progress and next learning steps, and are fully engaged in supporting learning at home. Parents say that their children have flourished in the nursery as a result of the activities available to them and the support they receive from the passionate, kind and caring staff. This effective partnership working creates a collaborative approach to children's care and learning.