Little Angels at Fenham Children's Centre

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children relish being in this welcoming, safe and exceptionally well-resourced environment. They separate with ease from their parents, keen to get into the nursery and excited for their learning to begin. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the management team has adapted daily routines. Parents comment on how much more independent their children have become since the drop-off and collection arrangements have changed and parents no longer enter the nursery.

Children delight in displaying their developing physical skills. They join together across all ages for a pumpkin hunt. Children excitedly rush around the outdoor area, thrilled to find the pumpkins. Older children learn that they can carry the smaller pumpkins easily, but that they need two hands to pick up the very largest pumpkins. Children's faces show satisfaction as they manoeuvre themselves along an obstacle course of crates and planks. They know that they need to walk slowly and put their arms out to balance.

Babies show high levels of social awareness. The very youngest babies delight as slightly older babies join their play. They acknowledge each other with looks and smiles as they play together and contentedly share resources. Staff support children to become skilful communicators. Babies show how skilled they are at communicating. They engage staff in conversations, babbling and gurgling as they talk to staff. Older children are able to engage in discussions and articulate their ideas with high levels of confidence. For example, children talk together as they pretend to wash crockery. They discuss what bags they will need as they plan a shopping trip.

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

• The curriculum is carefully designed to build on what children know and can do. Staff know the children very well and understand their developmental needs. They offer children opportunities to practise the skills they already have, to help them grow in confidence and to secure their knowledge. For example, older children make snack boxes. They very confidently slice peppers, snip spring onions and tear lettuce. This helps to strengthen children's finger muscles, which supports their early writing skills.
• The strong nurturing bond between staff and children is evident. Children of all ages know if they need comfort, reassurance or welcoming cuddles that these are given by all staff. This helps to develop children's sense of safety and security within the nursery.
• Children show high levels of respect for each other and adults. They behave well and say 'please' and 'thank you'. Children willingly let others enter their already established play. They are happy to discuss what they are doing and share resources. Children behave very well. They automatically use good manners and are happy to wait until it is their turn.
• Children are capable, confident and motivated learners. Older children show their developing imagination skills as they enact real-life experiences in their play. For example, children pretend to be at the hairdressers. Staff willingly join in to support children's play, discussing different hairstyles with children.
• Staff support children who speak English as an additional language very well. They engage with parents to learn words in children's home languages. Staff link words to resources and movements, and give children extra time to process their thinking before responding. This means that children's ability to understand and speak English develops quickly.
• Staff are very skilled storytellers. They bring stories to life through the use of different tones of voice. Staff give children time to fully engage with stories. They encourage children to look at the pictures and ask questions about the stories. This helps to foster children's love of books.
• When staff talk to children, they get down to children's level, speak clearly and use the correct pronunciation. This helps to support children's developing communication and language skills.
• Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities well. Any gaps in children's learning are quickly identified and discussed with parents. Staff are proactive in getting professionals on board to get children the help and support they need. This targeted approach helps children to make the best possible progress.
• The management team has focused staff's professional development predominately on building staff's knowledge of how to keep children safe. However, they have not fully incorporated enhancing staff's understanding of supporting children's learning and development into professional development opportunities.
• At times, staff do not consider how daily routines, such as mealtimes, can be used to extend and consolidate children's learning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• extend professional development opportunities for staff, to raise the quality of teaching to an even higher level
• review the organisation of some daily routines, to ensure that all opportunities are consistently used to extend and develop children's learning even further.