Loughborough University Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

All children flourish in this nursery, including those who speak English as an additional language. The quality of teaching is exemplary across the whole of the staff team. Children of all ages consistently demonstrate very high levels of interest and engagement. During an excellent physical activity session, younger children become immersed in the activity, showing high levels of enjoyment. Staff skilfully tailor the teaching to each child's needs. Children are challenged to move in a variety of ways to different types of music. For example, they are supported to turn around and maintain their balance. Children watch and then cleverly adapt their movements to mirror what staff are doing.

Older children demonstrate an avid interest in learning about bees. Staff provide an excellent introduction to the activity, ensuring that children fully understand what they are doing. Children recall the life cycle and learn about the anatomy of a bee. Staff skilfully reiterate key words, as well as introducing children to new vocabulary. Children maintain high levels of focus when they listen to a story. They engage in sustained shared thinking as they discuss the meaning of the word 'fretful' and why the bee was 'angry'.

Staff empower children to self-regulate their behaviour and emotions. Children have the confidence and ability to manage situations independently. For example, when a child is about to select a toy that someone else is using, the child holds up their hand and asks the other child to stop and explains that they are using it. The child selects another resource, and they then play together.

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

• The unwavering passion and commitment of the management team influences every aspect of the nursery. Managers embrace the values of the university to provide a welcoming, respectful, collaborative setting, where they strive to achieve the best for every child. The incredibly talented and creative staff team introduces inspiring resources to extend children's learning and to align with the value of sustainability. Evaluation of practice is carried out with scrupulous attention to detail. Similarly, the monitoring of children's development to ensure they make the best possible progress is rigorous.
• The management team has extremely high expectations. Staff receive highly focused, supportive and meaningful coaching, guidance and training. Due to their training in communication and language, staff are highly skilled in supporting children to develop their vocabulary, engage in conversations, listen and understand instructions. As staff develop their own knowledge and skills, they share this with other staff to broaden the range of learning experiences for children. For example, a member of staff is developing storytelling to further support children to develop their memories and imaginations.
• The management team has exceptional knowledge of how children learn. Such is their expertise and professionalism that they are asked to support and mentor staff at other settings, deliver training and contribute to external projects led by a range of other professionals. They use these experiences to positively benefit children within the nursery. For example, following involvement in a sports science project, they have provided useful information to parents about how to support children's physical development at home.
• The highly skilled and professional special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) is a steadfast champion of children. Her staunch determination that no child should be limited in what they can achieve is equalled by her extremely effective and well-coordinated strategies of support for children. She maintains professional relationships with parents, as well as external agencies, to ensure that referrals are completed as quickly as possible. Children make exceptional progress from their starting points.
• The curriculum is closely aligned to the needs of children in the nursery. Every aspect of the curriculum is underpinned with a well-evidenced rationale of why it is a focus. A strong focus is placed on enabling children to self-regulate emotions so that they are able to fully engage and become agents of their own learning. The manager ensures that there is depth and breadth to the curriculum to give children opportunities to engage in a range of inspiring activities, such as learning about physics. Parents and carers enthuse about the rich opportunities children experience on the university campus, such as the graduation ceremony and participating in an event in celebration of International Women's Day.
• Parents and carers speak very highly of the staff and the positive impact they have on children's learning and development. Information sharing is extremely successful in guiding parents to support learning at home. Parents and carers know the content of the curriculum and are given details of specific activities they can do to support and extend this.
• The management team has recently improved the support for children as they move through the nursery. Consequently, this aspect of the provision is excellent. Parents and carers comment on how effective this is. Careful consideration is given to what each individual child needs to help them form relationships and feel secure.