Kids Wreck

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children gleefully dash into the nursery eager to begin their day. They enthusiastically take part in outdoor games, cheering for their friends as they catch a ball. Children enjoy planting seeds and learning about what plants need to help them grow. They practise their fine motor skills and giggle with delight as they use tweezer to find wool 'worms' in compost. The baby room is a calm and nurturing space where children quickly grow in confidence to explore.

Staff focus on developing children's speech, which supports their learning in other areas of the curriculum. Children's faces light up as they share their thoughts and ideas with staff, confident they will be listened to. As a result, all children make good progress towards being confident communicators. Staff give children the space and time they need to follow their own interests, which deepens their focus on learning. Staff promote high expectations of children's behaviour. This contributes to the purposeful learning environment.

Children demonstrate they feel safe and secure in the nursery. They snuggle up with staff during frequent story times and turn to them for praise when they achieve something new. Staff know each child very well. They embrace individuality and adapt the support they give to ensure that each child makes good progress.

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

• The curriculum has a strong focus on developing children's communication and language. High-quality interactions between staff and children ensure that children have many opportunities to hear new words and increase their vocabulary. Staff play alongside children, engaging them in meaningful conversations and using a range of questioning strategies. As a result, children make rapid progress in this area and quickly close any gaps in their learning.
• Staff weave mathematics into children's learning experiences and play. For example, staff show children how to work out which pebble is the 'heaviest' or which block tower is the 'tallest'. However, during teaching moments, younger children do not consistently have these solid examples to support them to understand the concept of numbers and quantities. This sometimes leads to children having misconceptions.
• Overall, staff plan a wide range of meaningful learning experiences to deliver the curriculum. They read engagingly about a 'sand dragon'. Staff enthuse children as they encourage them to move like the waves and make their own marks in the sand. Staff introduce ambitious vocabulary about eels and scuba divers as children explore a sensory ocean activity. Children remember what they learn and make links to other learning.
• Staff do not always use lunchtimes effectively to continue delivering the curriculum as intended. For example, they serve children their meals one by one rather than learning to help themselves. Sometimes, they do not give children the cutlery they need to cut their food. As a result, children do not have the opportunity to practise their fine motor skills and further build on their independence.
• Staff help children to develop confidence in their own abilities. Children learn to find their own belongings from a young age and help to tidy up as a team. Staff praise the effort children make. This encourages children to try hard and 'have a go'. Children are able to challenge themselves and persevere when things get difficult.
• Staff maintain strong links with families. There is an effective key-person system that enables a two-way flow of information about children's learning and development. Staff plan settling-in sessions around the needs of children and parents and carers to ensure a smooth transition for all. They support children to continue their learning at home with 'homework' tasks and regular learning reviews. Leaders are passionate about ensuring that children and families receive the support they need. As a result, children make good progress overall.
• Leaders support their staff effectively. There is a strong teamwork ethos in the nursery, which gives all staff a sense of pride and responsibility in their work. Staff support each other to improve through strong mentoring processes and regular evaluations of practice. Leaders ensure that staff receive the professional and personal support they need to be effective practitioners.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to refine the teaching of mathematics to ensure that children develop a thorough understanding of numbers
• enhance practice at lunchtimes to maximise opportunities for children to develop and build on key skills as the curriculum intends.