Little Angels at Bedlington

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children of all ages are excited to enter this stimulating and vibrant nursery. They have excellent attachments to staff, who welcome them with huge smiles and cheery 'good mornings'. Babies hold out their arms, eagerly reaching for their key person. Older children rush in, hurrying to hang up their coats and bags, impatient to see their friends and for their learning to begin. This highlights the extent to which children feel safe and secure in the nursery.

Children become deeply engrossed in their play and show exceptional levels of concentration and motivation for their ages. They develop a thirst for learning and confidently demonstrate their wealth of skills and knowledge. Older children are articulate in communicating their interests to others. They instinctively and confidently work together to extend their play. For example, children choose to hold a fairy tea party and want to develop the activity to make houses for the fairies. They work proficiently together to design the houses and collect the resources which they need. As other children become interested, they are welcomed and their ideas are listened to and valued.

Children demonstrate exemplary behaviour and show exceptionally high levels of respect for each other and adults. For example, as older children ride on bicycles, they are especially courteous. They ensure that they do not disrupt other children's play by not bumping into them. Babies are curious and explore their environment with interest and confidence. Younger babies intently watch other babies as they bang beakers together. They beam with delight as older babies share the beakers.

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

• The management team and staff have high ambitions for every child to develop a love of learning and achieve to the best of their abilities. Staff use the wealth of detailed information about children's development from parents to plan meaningful experiences to help children settle. Staff provide a first-class curriculum which ensures that individual children's development builds on what they already know and can do. This enables all children to achieve exceptionally well.
• Children's communication skills are superbly supported. Staff expertly use questioning techniques to challenge children's thinking. For example, they encourage children to 'wonder' why apples float in water, but sand sinks. This stimulates discussions between children and motivates them to find other objects to experiment with. Staff talk of how they intentionally use bubbles to help develop younger children's facial muscles, which makes them more adept at making sounds and having clearer pronunciation.
• The management team and staff are highly attuned to the needs of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They work in close partnership with a wide range of other professionals to ensure that children and their families get the excellent support they need. Consequently, children with SEND are included in the nursery especially well.
• Staff embed mathematics into their teaching of children across all ages. They automatically count with babies as they chop bananas for snack. Staff expertly use impromptu activities to support older children's learning of numbers in context and extend their mathematical vocabulary. For example, children splash water on the floor and jump onto the marks they have made. Staff encourage children to count their jumps and to think of 'what number comes next'.
• Children, from the youngest babies upwards, are enabled to develop their independence and extend their 'have-a-go' attitude to learning. Babies are determined to use tools, such as spoons, to feed themselves. Older children serve their own food, deciding for themselves how much they wish to eat. Children's faces show exceptional levels of intense concentration as they carefully carry their plates to the table. As a result, children become capable, confident individuals who are fully prepared to move on to the next stages of their development.
• Children in receipt of funding are very well supported and staff target funding to meet their identified needs. For example, staff enhanced the environment with a specific area to support children who need high levels of sensory stimulation. This ensures that all children feel welcomed and valued.
• Parents are exceptionally complimentary about the nursery and the service which it provides. They value the outstanding and individual care given to all children. Parents of children with SEND sincerely value the support that the management team and staff give during the referral process and beyond.
• Staff are proud to belong to this vibrant nursery. Strong teamwork and shared high aspirations for the children are at the heart of everything they do. This is reflected in the range of high-quality opportunities offered to children and the excellent progress which children make in their development.