Jellybean Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and excited when they arrive at nursery. They leave their parents with confidence and settle quickly into their play. Staff are welcoming and nurturing towards children and greet them warmly on their arrival. Children are encouraged at every opportunity to be independent. Staff support children to develop their self-help skills in preparation for school. This is reflected in the range of activities staff provide children to explore.

Staff have high expectations for children and know what they want children to learn. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, benefit from a curriculum that meets their individual needs. Staff support children to be confident learners and give them plenty of praise and encouragement during their play.

Staff work with parents to create a positive atmosphere at the nursery. Consequently, children are well behaved. They learn to share and take turns during group activities. For example, children wait their turn to decorate the Christmas tree. They make sure all of their friends have a turn to add snowflakes, baubles and lights. Staff praise the children for taking part, which boosts their self-esteem and confidence. Children excitedly respond by clapping when they finish decorating the Christmas tree.

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

• Leadership and management are extremely strong. The manager has a very clear vision for the nursery and high aspirations for every child. He is highly dedicated to ensuring that all children in his care receive the support they need to build on their skills and succeed. Staff provide a challenging and individualised curriculum for all children very effectively. As a result, staff use assessments and screening tools highly successfully to identify children's strengths and target areas for support.
• Staff get to know children extremely well and fully understand the community they live in. They plan exciting activities based on the children's interests, to enhance children's learning. Staff teach children to learn and celebrate a range of festivals that are important to them and their friends. Staff support children who speak English as an additional language effectively and teach them about different cultures, ethnicities and beliefs that reflect their own and their peers.
• Children's communication and language is supported effectively. Staff efficiently role model language clearly to support children to develop their communication skills. Children thoroughly enjoy looking at books and singing songs and familiar rhymes. Staff teach children the days of the week. Older children enthusiastically respond, informing staff about the day of the week, month and year. While most children enjoy being part of a large group, on occasion, group sizes are too large. Consequently, some younger children find it more difficult to engage and begin to lose attention after a period of time.
• Staff worked hard to maintain contact with children and families during the COVID-19 pandemic. They contacted families regularly and supported each other during a challenging time for staff and the community. The manager recognises the impact the pandemic has had on children's learning. He has made changes to aspects of the curriculum to support children to make further progress.
• Staff strive to promote healthy lifestyles for children. They place a high priority on ensuring that parents provide a healthy lunch. Consequently, a healthy food initiative has been highly effective. Staff inform parents and children about eating healthily. As a result, children eat nutritious meals and enjoy pouring their own drinks at mealtimes.
• Staff recognise that, at times, some children have limited access to the outdoors. They have worked tirelessly to ensure that children have regular opportunities to benefit from daily exercise outside each day. However, although children enjoy playing outside, leaders continue to reflect and build on the range of opportunities available outdoors to support children's learning even further.
• The manager is passionate about staff well-being and continual professional development. He ensures that training is targeted to support staff to maintain effective practice. Staff benefit from regular supervisions, observation of teaching and weekly team meetings. The manager and staff are well qualified and keep their knowledge and skills up to date.
• Partnerships with parents are highly effective in promoting the continuity of care between home and nursery. Parents speak highly of the nursery. They positively comment on the quality of care and learning their children receive each day. Parents know what their children have been learning and are grateful for the help and support children receive to make progress.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• extend and enhance outdoor experiences even further so that children develop an even wider range of skills as they play, explore and expand their learning
• provide even more opportunities that help children to develop confidence to engage in learning appropriate for their age, to further build on children's self-esteem and confidence.