Loveders Nursery School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff create a vibrant and exciting nursery for children to spend their time in. Children of all ages are surrounded by an abundance of opportunities to explore, investigate and learn. The atmosphere is electric, with the sound of confident children engaged in animated discussions with their friends and warm, sensitive interactions with adults. Children throughout the nursery form strong, trusting relationships with staff. They flourish in an environment where they are treated with kindness and respect, secure in the knowledge that their needs will be met. This provides even the youngest children with the strong foundation they need to be able to fully benefit from the experiences on offer. All children display wonderful social skills. They have excellent manners and behave incredibly well for their age.

Staff listen carefully to children and show genuine interest in their opinions and views. Even the very youngest children make choices about their learning and play. For example, babies are given the option of painted wooden spoons decorated to symbolise familiar nursery rhymes and songs. They choose which one they would like to sing next. Staff make excellent use of storytelling to enhance children's language skills. They make the absolute most of these activities to extend all areas of learning. For example, those working with toddlers retell much-loved stories to support children's concentration and waiting skills during care routines. In addition, children regularly enjoy stories in the outdoor classroom, where staff skilfully pause to check and extend learning by explaining the meaning of new words. For instance, children listening to a story about a boat on a moat are taught where moats are usually found and what their purpose is.

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

• The senior management team has a clear and highly ambitious vision for children that is fully understood and consistently implemented by all staff. Staff are committed to celebrating and nurturing the uniqueness of each child, supporting them to develop a positive sense of self-identity. This is promoted with a strong focus on adventurous outdoor play. Staff working with each group skilfully use their precise knowledge of each child to plan activities that successfully capture their interest and extend their learning. Staff also provide an array of experiences specifically designed to spark children's imagination and expose them to new experiences and ideas. Examples of these include taking children on regular walks to observe wild bluebells in bloom over a series of several weeks. Children take pictures and use these back at the nursery to compare and examine in more detail. They go on to create their own pictures and displays of the flowers. Later, they make lavender oil after visiting the local lavender fields.
• Staff's expectations for children are limitless. They provide them with an abundance of opportunities to test their limits and learn at their own pace. Outdoors, children learn to assess and manage risks as they engage in all manner of physical activities. Indoors, they independently explore the wide range of resources, all purposefully provided to support their learning and enhance their enjoyment. There is a clear intent behind all planned activities, and staff use creative methods to help children learn. For example, children learn early mathematical concepts as they follow the recipe and instructions to weigh out the ingredients to make bird feeders. They mould their bird feed into shapes such as cylinders and cubes before they enthusiastically hang them in the outdoor forest area of the nursery garden. Teaching of this high standard is commonplace across the nursery. As such, children are completely engaged in their learning and really behave very well.
• Everyone's learning and development are of the utmost importance and continuously nurtured at the nursery. This is true for both children and staff. The managers recognise and value the skills of each member of staff and fully support their ongoing professional development. Staff complete training that is specifically targeted to respond to the needs of the children they are caring for. Morale is extremely high among the staff team. They say they feel incredibly privileged to work at the nursery.
• Staff hold the same high aspirations for all children and work tirelessly to ensure that everyone is fully included in activities. There are fully effective and highly coordinated arrangements to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). As is the case for all children, the emotional well-being of children with SEND is carefully considered. For example, when planning the transition of an individual child with SEND to school, staff work closely in partnership with other professionals. This ensures that the new setting is fully aware of how best to support and meet the unique needs of each child. They also ensure parents feel fully involved in the process. This helps to provide children with positive early experiences of managing major changes.
• Partnerships with parents are extremely positive and effective in supporting children's learning at home. All parents are encouraged to share the adventures that they have with their children at home by capturing these on a blank paper leaf. Children can then share these memories with their friends during focus time before displaying them on the talking tree. In addition, children go home proudly supporting their 'Ask me about' stickers. These prompt their parents to show interest in something their child has learned or achieved each day. Parents are kept fully informed and are involved in decisions about how additional funding is used to support their children's learning.