Limes Court Nursery School Limited

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are valued and very well cared for in this nurturing nursery. They build good relationships with their key person through a positive settling-in process. Parents are invited to take part in the settling-in journey with their children. This helps children to feel safe. Staff are attentive to children's individual needs. They have created cosy spaces for children to use if they need a gradual transition in the morning or quiet time throughout the day. The manager and staff have created a welcoming environment that provides children with a homely feel, with familiar and stimulating resources. Children's behaviour is exemplary. They are kind and considerate towards their friends and have impeccable manners. Children respect the resources in the room. They treat them with great care and put them back where they belong when they have finished using them.

Staff have high expectations of children's self-help skills. They support children to be independent and make choices. At mealtimes, babies begin feeding themselves. As they move into the toddler room, they begin clearing away their bowls and cutlery after meals. When children progress into the pre-school room, they serve their own meals. Staff allow children to explore their own portion control and make choices about what they would like to eat from the healthy selection of food.

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

• The manager and staff have created a unique and purposeful curriculum that instils a nurturing ethos. Each child is given time to flourish at their own pace. Staff use their assessments to determine children's interests and learning needs, and they act on them immediately. They provide interesting provocations for learning that stimulate awe and wonder. Children are highly motivated and cooperate well with each other. Staff explain the use of the sand timer and children wait with anticipation for their turn.
• Communication and language development is well supported. Staff recognise the importance of repetition for children to learn new words. Babies begin to make choices about the rhymes that they want to sing and join in with some actions and familiar words. Older children join their friends for story times where they learn about the author of the book and talk about what is happening on each page. Children are confident communicators who have a rich and varied vocabulary, which demonstrates the breadth of their experiences.
• Staff join in with children's play. They observe their understanding and introduce new vocabulary. For instance, when older children play with torches, staff demonstrate how to shine light through coloured paper and mix them to make new colours. Children learn about making predictions and testing their theory. This offers children opportunities to investigate and think critically. However, sometimes, staff miss opportunities to extend children's learning further, particularly with younger children. This means that there are not consistently high expectations for all children.
• Partnerships with parents are strong. Staff share information about children's progress and the learning taking place. Positive daily discussions allow staff to celebrate children's achievements or talk about any concerns. Parents speak highly of the staff and the support that they provide for their children. They appreciate the advice they provide on how they can best support their children at home.
• Staff work closely with other agencies to achieve positive outcomes for children. Specialist teachers are invited to work alongside children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff act on advice provided by other agencies and spend time with children delivering individual strategies to support their learning. Staff use a language toolkit to assess children's speech and understanding of language. When they have concerns about a child's development, they act quickly by inviting parents to the nursery to discuss their concerns. Children with SEND make very good progress from their starting points.
• The manager has good support strategies in place for the staff. She offers weekly 'mini meets', where staff can request individual time to discuss any concerns or training needs. Staff feel valued in this inclusive nursery. New members of staff receive appropriate induction training, which includes support from a 'buddy', who is there to help them settle and learn more about the nursery expectations. The manager is aware of how the nursery can improve and has plans in place to develop teaching further.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff further to ensure that there is consistency in maintaining high expectations for younger children.