MadHatters Pre School Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are enthusiastic, curious and confident learners. They receive tailored settling-in sessions to ensure they feel settled and secure in the nursery. Children arrive happily at nursery and are eager to join in. They form firm friendships with their peers and strong bonds with staff. Staff are respectful and polite to children and one another. This promotes children's emotional well-being and helps them to feel safe. The nursery's routines are well embedded and help children to know what to expect.

Staff plan an ambitious curriculum. They organise the environment well to enable children to make independent choices in their play. Overall, children are motivated to engage in their learning. This contributes to the good progress that they make. For example, children eagerly flick paint onto paper and staff teach them about colours and textures. They benefit from meaningful praise from staff. Children listen and respond well to staff's instructions. Their behaviour is very good.

Children enjoy playing in the outdoor area. Staff plan opportunities for children to learn about the world around them. Children enjoy planting flowers and digging. They develop the small muscles in their hands as they use them to scoop the soil into pots. Children enjoy practising their balancing and jumping skills on apparatus. These opportunities help to develop children's physical skills. Staff support children's literacy skills well. For instance, they avidly tell stories and share children's favourite books with them.

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

• Staff provide stimulating activities that embrace children's current interests. For example, young children enjoy catching bubbles and singing rhymes. Older children relish painting, exploring water and being creative. Staff use any additional funding the nursery receives for individual children effectively to bridge any gaps in their learning.
• Mathematical language is embedded through a range of activities. For example, staff support children to count blocks as they build towers and search for toy bugs outdoors. Staff teach children about 'more' and 'less' as they plant flowers into pots. Children match the number of items they count to the numerals displayed. They learn about shapes during a drawing activity.
• Overall, children demonstrate a positive attitude to their learning and enjoy taking part in group activities. However, staff do not consider how they need to further adapt their teaching to support children's different stages of development. At times, group activities are pitched too high for some children. This does not help them to stay engaged and get the best from the learning experience.
• Children develop good levels of independence. Older children serve themselves snack and learn to use a knife and fork at lunchtime. They use the bathroom independently and children make choices about their play. Staff support children to learn about healthy lifestyles. Children enjoy healthy, nutritious and home-cooked meals and snacks. Staff encourage children to brush their teeth daily to help them to learn about good oral hygiene.
• A key-person system is in place, where staff form close attachments with their key children. They have a good understanding of what children need to learn next and implement this through adult-led activities. However, key persons do not always make other staff aware of children's next steps in learning. Consequently, when key persons are absent, other staff are not fully aware of children's individual learning needs.
• Partnerships with parents and carers are very well established. Parents praise staff for their genuine warmth and dedication. They say that staff genuinely care and that they would recommend the setting to others. Staff share regular information with parents about their children's learning and development in the nursery.
• Staff explain that they are happy and feel supported in their roles. They have regular room and team meetings where they reflect on their practice. Managers hold one-on-one meetings with staff to discuss their well-being and areas for development. Staff have opportunities to access training, such as around safer sleeping and specific baby room training.
• There is a clear focus on language and communication. Staff consistently introduce new words. For example, they clearly repeat words during play, such as 'bubbles'. When staff ask questions, they pause and give children time to think and answer. However, there are fewer strategies to support children who speak English as an additional language to further support their communication.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• adapt group activities more specifically to consider the different ages and abilities of children to ensure that all children fully engage and benefit from the learning opportunities
• strengthen the sharing of information between key persons and the staff team to further promote and extend individual children's learning
• embed consistent strategies to support children who speak English as an additional language to develop their communication and understanding.