Jack n Jill Pre-School and Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children happily wave goodbye to their parents as they are welcomed into this nurturing and inclusive nursery. Staff provide robust and bespoke settling-in processes that ensure children develop strong bonds with staff and their key persons. Therefore, children swiftly feel safe and secure in their environment. Staff provide opportunities for children take part in celebrations, to mark special days from their own and other cultures. This promotes a sense of belonging for all children and they learn about the wider world.

Staff successfully engage children in enjoyable back-and-forth conversations during their play. Because of this, children engage in lively conversations with friends. They use their rapidly developing language to ask questions and express their views. Staff are very good role models for children. For example, staff sensitively model number names and counting to children as they play imaginatively with the toy cars. Staff praise children's efforts as they count with them. This boosts their self-esteem and influences positive attitudes to learning.

Staff support children to accept the needs of others by encouraging turn-taking games. Children are proud when staff praise their good behaviour and acts of kindness to towards others. Children benefit from a variety of pets that reside at the nursery. They offer calming experiences and help children develop empathy, which contributes to children's growing ability to regulate their own behaviours and emotions.

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

• The management team and staff are knowledgeable about what they want the children to learn and plan a rich curriculum to help children make good progress. Staff bring the curriculum to life with creative and engaging learning experiences that ignite children's curiosity and wonder. For example, children develop their hand-eye coordination while squeezing juice from lemons during a fruit tea making activity. Due to its open-ended nature and availability of a wide range of resources, children happily create their own narrative to their play and test out their own ideas.
• The management team is well established, and they are highly passionate about their role. They continually evaluate the service provided to ensure the best outcomes for children. The management team listen to staff and have a high regard for their well-being. As a result, staff genuinely love working here. They find training that matches their interests and supports the children they care for extremely well.
• Mealtimes are sociable occasions throughout the nursery and children's independence is encouraged in all age groups. Staff give children meaningful praise as they independently carry out self-care routines. Staff support younger children to help them learn important hygiene routines, such as washing hands before eating. At times, staff do not always identify and respond effectively to use teaching opportunities that help children become increasingly independent in their personal care.
• Staff support children to practise real-life skills, such as cutting up fruit snacks and using hammers and nails in construction play. Although staff understand how to safely manage risky play, they are not consistently effective in teaching children how to identify and minimise potential risks for themselves.
• Children build resilience and strength as they test their physical limits on the various assault courses. They negotiate space incredibly well on pedal bicycles. Outdoor play is a big part of how staff promote healthy lifestyles. Staff help children to understand what it means to be healthy with regular cooking sessions. They also offer daily healthy meals and snacks, which contributes to the healthy and nutritious diet children enjoy.
• The inclusion of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities is a particular strength of the nursery. Staff work collaboratively with parents and outside professionals, to identify specific support for children's individual needs. Appropriate plans are implemented to enable children to achieve their best possible outcomes.
• Partnership with parents and families is at the heart of the nursery. Parents call it 'their second home' and express overwhelming praise for the staff team. Staff sensitively educate parents about the curriculum, and parents are inspired to replicate the learning and resources at home. Parents value the daily conversations about their children's learning and progress.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• build on the already good teaching, to further support children to increase their independence and confidence in managing their self-care
• help staff to consistently support children to broaden their understanding of how to assess and manage risks for themselves.