Lloyd Williamson Pre-School Kensington

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thrive in this caring nursery. Staff are dedicated to giving children the best possible start in life. Children come in happily and greet their friends with enthusiasm. They benefit from the caring, warm and nurturing approach of staff. Staff ensure children feel safe and secure from the moment they settle in. This helps them to become confident learners. Children benefit from a well-planned, broad and stimulating curriculum, that builds on children's knowledge over time. They know what children need to learn and generally take account of children's individual learning and development needs. Children have extensive opportunities to be active learners. For example, they eagerly add ice cubes to the sand to stop the ice melting. Children learn about the natural world and are able to develop their physical skills by running, climbing and balancing. They are confident in taking risks and can independently manage their safety.

Children's behaviour is exceptional. Managers and staff consider children's well-being to be essential to progress. Children play together purposefully and show great consideration to their friends. They use their manners and share effortlessly. For example, children offer to wait for their friends to be ready before watering the plants in the garden. They then respond with 'thank you'. Children eagerly share each other's achievements as they play together.

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

• The management team implement an ambitious curriculum. This focuses on children's interests and what children already know to promote further learning. The manager and staff set high expectations for all children to learn and achieve. Staff know the children very well. This allows them to move children's learning on from the moment they start.
• There is a strong focus on supporting children's emotional well-being. Staff use stories effectively to help children to talk about their feelings and emotions. Staff support this by using books and talk about the upcoming move on to school and building new friendships. This supports children's confidence.
• All children demonstrate a positive attitude towards their learning. Staff support all children to make good progress, including children with English as an additional language.
• All staff have a good understanding of all areas of learning. However, some staff do not consistently encourage all children to explore, investigate and problem-solve with more independence. For example, at times, staff are too quick to offer solutions to children's questions and learning. This includes mixing and adding ingredients for children to make play dough instead of allowing them to investigate how they could make it themselves.
• Children communicate confidently. Staff actively engage them in conversations and introduce new vocabulary. Staff ask questions and give children time to answer and they regularly recap on previous learning, which helps children to talk about their experiences and improve their sentences. Children with English as an additional language are supported well to develop their language skills. Staff learn key words in the children's home languages to support children's confidence to communicate with them and their peers.
• Staff are particularly skilled in threading the teaching of mathematics into everyday activities. Children confidently count how many of their friends are at nursery and measure ingredients for play dough using large scoops and a little oil.
• Partnerships with parents are strong. Parents comment on how the nursery is receptive regarding feedback given to them. There is ongoing two-way communication regarding their children's progress and suggestions to support children's learning at home. Parents like the nursery's promotion of reading at home as children enjoy borrowing books and props to develop a love of reading.
• New staff members complete a robust induction at the setting. As a result, all staff understand their roles and responsibilities well. The manager arranges supervision and identifies areas for continued professional development.
• The management team evaluates the ongoing performance of the nursery. Staff feel that they receive good support and are given meaningful professional development opportunities. All staff are encouraged to share new knowledge during staff meetings. For instance, following recent training, staff have introduced a mindfulness session for children to relax and reflect on what they have done at nursery and focus on what they will be doing. The sharing of knowledge gained from training helps staff to feel valued and appreciated.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• encourage children to consistently explore and investigate their own ideas and problem-solve with more independence.