Leap Ahead Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff teach children about the world. Older children have opportunities to explore different textures, such as compost and a range of vegetables. They touch turnips and sweetcorn. Staff introduce words in context, such as 'crumbly' when talking about the broccoli. Older children learn how some food is grown and where it can be bought. They share their knives to cut the vegetables with their friends. Children behave very well and show respect for their peers.

Babies snuggle up to staff and sit close to them. They enjoy listening to staff sing familiar songs to them, such as 'Old MacDonald Had a Farm'. Children show how they feel safe and happy in the care of staff.

Babies drink from beakers and sit at the table to enjoy their healthy food, closely supervised by staff. Older children enjoy the responsibility of being a special helper as they give out cups and cutlery to their friends. They confidently serve their own food and enjoy the social aspect of mealtimes. Staff encourage all children to be independent in their self-care and learn those important social skills. They ensure that children's learning is built step by step over time so that they have the knowledge they need to be ready for their move on to school.

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

• Staff talk with children throughout their play and help them to enjoy stories and songs. However, occasionally, staff do not introduce new words to babies, such as during creative play, to extend their vocabulary in context.
• Babies explore different textures with their fingers and make marks on paper. They climb small steps unaided and crawl through a tunnel to the slide. Older children use their arms and legs to make fast and slow movements with the parachute material. Staff provide a wide range of physical play activities, which helps children to develop their small- and large-muscle skills.
• Staff use songs and stories to enhance older children's mathematical learning. For example, as children pretend to be frogs, they count one to six and hold up their corresponding fingers. Staff draw children's attention to differences and changes in amounts, such as those in the story 'The Enormous Turnip'. Staff stand with children to make a line. They hold onto each other's clothing and pretend to work together to pull the enormous turnip out of the ground. Staff help children to learn about the victory of teamwork.
• Overall, staff meet the individual learning needs of all children. They know children well and what they want them to learn next. However, staff do not always respond to children's curiosity during adult-led play. For example, when older children show an interest in the seeds in a red pepper, staff do not always respond appropriately to extend their learning further.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, or those on the pathway to diagnosis, are supported very well. The manager, staff and special educational needs coordinator working directly with these children build close and professional relationships with other agencies and parents. They provide targeted support to help ensure that children make the best progress they can. Funding is also used very well, and the manager ensures good transition arrangements with teachers from the local schools. This means that children's individual needs are continuously met.
• Staff translate children's memory sheets for parents into their home language. They also translate stories and rhymes so that parents can sing and read to their children at home. Staff invite parents to stay-and-play sessions. They create opportunities that children and families may not yet have experienced, such as a beach day at the nursery. Staff provide a fully inclusive service and recognise the uniqueness of all families that they work with.
• The manager and the nominated individual recognise the importance of self-evaluation. They ensure that all service users' views are included in this process. Staff have opportunities to access training to enhance their knowledge. The manager is passionate about her role. She carries out observations of staff's interactions with children to evaluate their practice. However, the manager acknowledges that more precise feedback is needed to help continually improve the quality of teaching to benefit children further.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• help staff to consistently support and enhance babies' early communication and language development
• support staff to respond to older children's curiosity during adult-led play to extend their learning further
• strengthen existing arrangements to provide more precise evaluations of staff's teaching practice to benefit children further.