Little Blossom Nursery School (Leavesden)

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children settle swiftly in this nurturing learning environment and develop close and trusting relationships with staff. Young children, and those who are new to the setting, seek out key staff for support and demonstrate close attachments with them. Older children develop equally close relationships with enthusiastic staff, enjoying staff's energetic engagement during play.

Leaders and staff work closely to develop a strong curriculum based on providing children with the skills they will take forward into their next stage of learning and beyond. This is sequenced and adapted well to support the ever-changing needs of children who attend. For example, recent changes to the environment support the current focus on developing children's early literacy skills. Staff have created a dedicated language and reading room where children explore a wealth of storytelling equipment, such as books, puppets, storyboards and mark-making equipment.

Children's communication skills are central to staff teaching. Staff routinely extend children's language during play in age-appropriate ways. Children are encouraged to sequence words to form sentences and explore more complex alternatives to the words they use. For example, when exploring play dough, they learn to 'roll', 'pinch' and 'squeeze' the dough to achieve their desired outcomes.

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

• Partnerships with other professionals are strong and supportive. Leaders embrace ideas and feedback to enhance children's learning and well-being. For example, robust relationships with local schools mean that staff can focus on developing children's fine motor and early literacy skills, understanding how these will support them in their transition to school.
• Leaders particularly focus on the needs of children and families that attend. They ensure all play is inclusive and provide a wealth of learning based on children's early experiences. For example, children have continuous access to highly engaging outdoor learning opportunities. These focus on promoting children's development across all areas of learning while embracing their need for outdoor, physical play.
• Older children develop close and cooperative relationships with one another. They work together as a team to construct obstacle courses and help one another filling containers with water and soil. Staff conduct daily group discussions to embed the setting's 'Golden Rules'. These sessions are delivered well by staff, who use a variety of methods, such as simple sign language and visual aids, to support children's understanding of appropriate behaviour. However, this same strong focus on developing appropriate behaviours is not consistent when supporting young children to take turns and share resources.
• Leaders support staff's practice well. They have a deep understanding of their team members' interests and areas for development. Leaders encourage staff to take on roles of responsibility and develop areas of expertise that they can share with their colleagues. Strategies such as these help to create a cohesive team who readily provide one another with support in their roles.
• Leaders and staff make every effort to engage with families via daily communications and by providing regular workshops. During these sessions, parents gather a deeper understanding of how to promote children's learning through play at home. Staff understand the pressures on parents and go out of their way to ease them. For example, parents can help themselves to a healthy breakfast when dropping children off and access flexible care that meets their families' changing needs.
• Children celebrate one another's successes and achievements during group discussions. During these sessions, staff explain how positive affirmations support their well-being and self-esteem and those of their friends. However, not all children are ready to join in these larger sessions. Some children become distracted, which can impact on other children's engagement.
• Older children develop their mathematical knowledge during all activities and in age-appropriate ways. Young children count cars in their role play activity and the number of steps they climb. Older children explore volume and capacity during sand play and use measuring jugs to create 'potions' in an exciting sensory activity. During their daily 'busy fingers' activities, children draw numbers in their individual sand trays and identify significant numbers on magnetic boards.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance the support offered to young children, specifically around learning to share and take turns
• further evaluate the organisation of group sessions to allow all children to fully engage and maximise the learning they receive.