Loving Hands Int. Nursery School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are at the heart of this small and unique pack-away nursery. Leaders have created a culture of openness, trust and respect, where staff work closely with parents to ensure children thrive. Leaders pride themselves on their inclusivity, and every child and their family is valued. Their ambition for children, particularly the most disadvantaged, ensures all children get the foundations they need to do well in the future. Leaders understand the diverse community the nursery serves and the needs of the children attending. They make sure children receive the support they need and benefit from the additional funding they are entitled to. Leaders and staff use what they learn from home visits about children's experiences and gaps in their learning to personalise how the curriculum is delivered. Consequently, all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make rapid progress.

Children enjoy a good deal of high-quality interactions with staff, who are skilled at keeping children interested. This results in children being keen to take part and persist in learning new skills. Through carefully planned routines and activities, staff teach children new vocabulary and how to care for themselves and others. For example, staff explain and demonstrate to children how to prepare their own snack. Children beam with delight when they succeed and are told, 'I knew you could butter your cracker!'

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

• All staff understand their vital role in supporting children's play and learning. They provide limitless opportunities for children to share their experiences and increase their knowledge. For example, during children's role play, staff encourage children to talk about recent trips to the doctor's surgery. Children enjoy listening to their hearts beating and putting nappies on their 'poorly' dolls. They tell their parents about what they have learned about bones.
• Staff use various ways to target gaps in children's communication and language development. For example, they create dictionaries of familiar words children use in their home languages, and use these along with English. Staff use visual aids, such as at snack time and singing time, for children to be able to make choices. They routinely introduce different words for the same object and use descriptive words. This helps children to make connections and extend their vocabulary. They learn about colours and that their chair can also be called a 'seat', for example.
• Leaders promote equal opportunity and address gaps in children's learning, enabling all children to progress significantly across the whole curriculum. For example, leaders provide parents with workshops about the importance of talking, reading and singing to their children. Parents are encouraged to support their children's development at home. For example, they borrow story sacks, dual-language books, toys and poetry boxes.
• Children routinely look at books throughout their play. Staff are quick to respond, and children sustain their interest for considerable periods. Younger children develop the skills to listen to stories with older children. Children remember and recount familiar stories, using new words in context. For example, during water play, they use the words, 'splish, splash' and recite, 'We're going on a bear hunt'.
• Staff provide many opportunities for children to build connections between their own identities and differences in others. For example, parents bring in foods from their own cultures for 'food-tasting sessions'. Children who are new to the nursery quickly build strong relationships with staff and other children. Children show care to one another, such as by getting their friend's water bottle for them at snack time.
• Staff give children opportunities to learn and practise their physical skills, which were limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, staff support children to persist with threading bracelets of small beads and pasta. They help children to ride scooters and tricycles in the garden. Children hold the red 'stop' and green 'go' sign to show when it is safe for them.