Leap Ahead @ Nunsthorpe

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Leap Ahead @ Nunsthorpe excites children and ignites their love for exploration. They are highly motivated to learn and understand more about the world around them. Staff consistently extend children's thinking through their questions and prompts. Children are very confident and able to express themselves. As they climb on a bench outside and shout 'I am the king of the castle', they help their friends to climb and join them. Children are highly motivated as they consistently keep trying to problem solve. They try different ways to stop the plank of wood wobbling and try to balance it on top, testing with their feet. Children are supported by engaging and enthusiastic staff. Children's behaviour is excellent. They are fully aware of the rules, telling visitors where to put their wellies.

Children are very independent, and they choose which fruit to eat at snack time. They pour themselves milk into china cups with saucers and pass them to their friends. Children have plenty of opportunities to create their own play and learning. All children highly engage in their chosen activity and enjoy finding letters in the sand to build vocabulary. Toddlers are eager to explore, climbing the stairs to the slide independently. They roll dough to make a cake, copying pictures in the book. There is a love of stories and books at the setting, and children enjoy looking at books about boats. They laugh as they share a group story with a member of staff. Children reach for props, such as the dog biscuits and a shoe, as they pass resources to their friends and taking turns patiently.

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

• Effective practice is evident throughout the setting. Leaders share their ethos with staff who implement this vision consistently. This supports children to gain a wealth of experience about the world around them. They have a variety of books and comics available to support a love of reading. Leaders encourage parents to read to support their understanding of how children learn in order to support learning at home.
• Children make excellent progress with their communication and language skills. Staff provide a progressive curriculum that supports children to make outstanding progress. They model language and extend children's vocabulary. Children learn how to think, question and experiment with ideas. Older children are supported to recognise the letters in their name, when they are developmentally ready for this stage.
• Leaders use funding well to enhance opportunities for children. For example, they provide outdoor clothing so that children can experience being outside in all weathers. Children thrive in their learning, as they gain a wealth of experiences. They learn to help others and take part in initiatives, including a sponsored 'find items in nature' event for charity.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are highly supported by staff to make very good progress in their learning. Their families are fully included, which creates a holistic approach to their development. Children make high rates of progress due to the meticulous planning and strong partnership working with external professionals.
• There is very strong engagement with children. Staff's questions enable children to think for themselves and work things out. Staff ask 'What can we use to stop this wobbling?' when children try to balance on a plank of wood. This supports the excellent progression in children's language and communication development. Children's voices are heard. They have opinions about meals on the menu, voting which is their favourite.
• Children's behaviour is excellent. They are respectful of resources, their peers and adults. Staff are calm, nurturing and supportive. This helps when children need to understand their feelings.
• The manager is highly ambitious and has outstanding knowledge about early years practice. She knows how to enable staff to thrive and maintain effective practice. Staff feel part of the family and are able to speak openly and honestly with the manager. This helps them feel excited and enthusiastic about the setting. Staff ensure practice is always of a high standard in the setting by communicating well with the team. The manager and staff are always striving for the best for the children.
• Parents and grandparents are highly complimentary about the setting, staff and management. They see great improvements in their children since starting at the setting. Parents feel supported and included in their child's learning. They feel that the setting cares about them as parents as much as their children.
• All staff are highly knowledgeable about the curriculum and how they teach children. The curriculum ignites children's curiosity. Staff find new resources to spark children's interest. For example, they introduce children to Hungarian beats music, Dutch clogs and Chinese words. These broaden children's experiences of the world and help them to develop an understanding of cultural diversity.