Ivy League Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff build warm relationships with children and their parents from the start. Children approach staff for hugs and reassurance and show that they feel emotionally secure. Staff acknowledge the contributions made by people from different communities. This helps children to value and respect what makes them, and others, unique. Staff share their languages with children from similar backgrounds. They provide routines and activities that help children to develop their self-esteem and confidence. For example, parents visit and read favourite books to children, including in their home languages.

Staff use successful methods to increase the interactions between less confident speakers and their peers. Children proudly wear badges that show their allocated tasks for the day. Staff encourage them to help their friends understand what to do. For example, bathroom monitors gently direct their friends to brush their teeth after lunch. Staff help children to learn how to keep themselves safe from an early stage. For example, they show babies how to navigate their way downstairs safely on their tummies. Older children confidently use wheeled toys. They gleefully ride down slopes at speed.

Older children benefit from the links that leaders build with teaching staff at local schools. Staff support children to become more confident communicators and independent learners.

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

• Leaders work with external practitioners and advisors effectively. This helps them to agree priorities for further development. Leaders communicate action plans and curriculum aims to staff, who share their commitment to continuous improvement. This has helped them to achieve a good level of service.
• Leaders implement induction procedures to help staff understand their roles and expectations. Very occasionally, this is not fully effective. For example, the milk kitchen for babies is not consistently maintained as expected. Nonetheless, leaders use staff supervision to evaluate performance. This helps them to jointly identify strengths and gaps in staff's knowledge.
• Staff help children to develop a love of books. Children access books independently and make choices about what to read. Staff provide sequenced opportunities for children to recognise pictures, labels and text and develop their early literacy. For example, older children self-register on arrival and complete visual risk assessments alongside staff.
• Staff encourage quieter children to gain confidence to communicate. Children share information with their friends during regular 'Show and Tell' sessions.
• Children speak about items and events from home. They share information with unfamiliar adults about their celebrations away from the nursery. Children build fluency as they sing, join in rhymes, read and recall stories.
• Staff help children to settle well into new routines. Babies receive close attention and use comfort items from home. Staff provide flexible routines that meet the care needs of babies and children. Some children enjoy spending time with their younger peers. Staff encourage children to build and sustain warm friendships with their friends within the nursery, and beyond.
• Children enjoy their time outdoors. They put crates together to balance on, pedal their friends around on dual-ride bikes and share resources. Children show resilience and persevere at tasks. For example, they carefully balance on beams and quickly start again when they fall. Babies point to illustrations as staff read. Outdoor opportunities for pre-walking babies outdoors are less well considered.
• Children show independence as they take off and put on shoes. Staff help babies to quickly learn how to self-feed. Staff support children's personal care and health needs effectively. Children serve themselves lunch and achieve independent self-care. Children respond well to staff's clear and consistent boundaries and are keen to help their friends.
• Parents notice the improvements children make in their language and social skills. They speak highly of the caring staff and homely environment. Parents value the accessible methods used to share information about their child's learning and development. Staff implement plans that contribute to children's learning at home, such as the nursery's book lending library.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance existing supervision arrangements, so that gaps in staff's knowledge about their responsibilities are more promptly identified and addressed
• strengthen the outdoor curriculum further so that pre-walking babies have more opportunities to move around and develop their larger muscles.