Magdalen Nursery, The Cottage

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy, and their parents confirm how much they enjoy coming to this nursery. There are strong bonds between the children and staff, who are extremely friendly and approachable. Children receive lots of praise and enjoy spontaneous cuddles with staff. This has a positive impact on their confidence, learning and personal development. Children benefit from staff's strong emphasis on supporting their welfare and safety, which is evident in the nursery's culture. They receive clear messages from staff on how to behave well.

Children respond positively to staff's high expectations for their learning. For example, older children listen well and contribute their thoughts as they learn about the sizes of the planets. They demonstrate strong communication skills, such as when talking about their recent holidays and family members. Younger children delight in being physically active, indoors and outdoors. They learn to manoeuvre themselves around the furniture and practise their walking skills carefully. Children are socially confident. For instance, the older ones speak with visitors and ask questions to show their curiosity. Children have positive attitudes to learning. They are well prepared for the next stage of their education.

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

• The manager, who is relatively new to her role, has provided staff, parents and children with much-needed stability at the nursery. She works collaboratively with her dedicated staff team to achieve a high-quality and inclusive setting.
• The manager uses the self-evaluation process effectively to prioritise areas for development. For example, she has made positive changes to the curriculum to enrich children's experiences. The manager acknowledges that staff now need to strengthen information sharing with all parents for a more consistent approach to children's learning.
• Staff use their accurate observations and assessments to plan activities for the children. However, during some planned activities, they do not establish well enough what children know and can do to consolidate their learning. For example, staff shy away from engaging children in dialogue to help them to remember what they have learned.
• Staff have a strong working partnership with other professionals who are involved in children's care. They act on the advice received to ensure that children make good progress from their starting points. For instance, staff follow a programme of activities to promote children's overall physical development.
• Children of all ages hear numbers during play, songs and conversations. This encourages children to join in and copy actions. Older children receive good levels of encouragement to solve simple problems and add and subtract items. These opportunities give children a strong starting point to support and extend their mathematical thinking.
• Staff are extremely kind and gentle. They are highly responsive to children's individual needs and changing moods. This supports children's emotional well-being effectively. In addition, staff are good at modelling the language of feelings which help children to regulate their own emotions.
• Staff benefit well from coaching and training opportunities to develop their teaching practice. They gain higher qualifications which boost their self-esteem and confidence. Some staff have completed training to enhance their understanding of how children learn. This has had a positive impact on children's enjoyment and motivation levels.
• Children enjoy managing age-appropriate tasks, such as at mealtimes. For example, they are keen to help staff to prepare the tables for lunch. Staff encourage younger children to feed themselves and to drink from a cup, to promote their growing independence skills.
• Children's understanding of the world around them is developing well. They have opportunities to care for living things when planting herbs and vegetables in their garden. Cultural activities, such as those relating to Diwali and Lunar New Year, help to raise children's awareness of similarities and differences between people.
• Teamwork is particularly strong at this nursery. Staff work well together, which creates a harmonious environment. This contributes to the promotion of children's positive behaviour and attitudes to learning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• explore other ways of sharing information with all parents to ensure that they are fully informed about all aspects of their children's learning and development
• support staff to plan group activities more effectively in order to consolidate children's learning even further.