Maisy Moos

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thrive in this nurturing and welcoming environment. They show their delight at being in the nursery as they eagerly separate from parents and rush to be with their friends. Children are greeted with genuinely beaming smiles and a cheery welcome from all staff. Management and staff are committed in their drive to supporting children's learning and development. Children have tremendous fun as they learn and delight as staff challenge children's thinking. For example, when children need pans to collect water staff offer sieves. Children jump up and down and giggle as they shout 'no, they have holes in, we need pans'.

Children's behaviour is exemplary. They show high levels of respect for each other and towards adults. Children automatically say please and thank you. The youngest children are happy to wait their turn to share resources for songs and rhymes. Older children willingly let other children enter their already established play, happy to discuss what they are doing and to share resources.

Staff know children very well. They confidently discuss where children are in their learning and what it is they want children to learn next. For example, older children make a game of squirting water. Staff encourage children to look for words displayed outdoors and aim at letters in their names. Staff talk about how this is supporting children's letter recognition and early literacy skills as well as their physical development.

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

• Children show exceptional levels of problem-solving skills, perseverance and a can-do attitude to achieve their goals. For instance, children wish to move a large dish of water to another space in the outdoor area. After discussion, children join together to drag the dish of water to where they want it. Children show the satisfaction they feel in their own achievements as their faces glow with absolute joy and happiness.
• Parents are very complimentary about the nursery. They praise the support given by management and staff throughout the time the nursery was closed due to national restrictions. In particular, parents talk of the team effort in developing an online support community. Parents stress the value to their children and themselves of having these communication links.
• Older children are skilful communicators. They are able to engage in discussions and articulate their ideas with high levels of confidence. However, in their eagerness for children to learn, staff, occasionally, do not extend conversations to enable lengthy discussions to take place.
• Staff are exceptionally skilled at enabling children's independence skills and encourage children's belief in their own abilities. For example, at snack time, staff provide reassurance to children as they carefully pour their own milk into beakers. Staff know to offer ideas to children rather than do for children. Children respond with pleasure to the very genuine praise they receive when staff celebrate these achievements.
• Babies enjoy the time spent with staff and other children singing rhymes, giggling and wriggling with delight in time to the songs. However, at times staff sometimes repeat the sounds the children make rather than reinforcing the correct word.
• Staff instil a sense of confidence and a determination to succeed with children of all ages. For example, babies show a determination to climb up some steps, working out how to do so without leaving hold of the toy they are carrying. Babies look at staff for reassurance but refuse offers of help.
• Staff are competent at using opportunities as they arise to teach children about difference. For instance, as children are building staff talk about how some children can reach higher than others because they are taller, their arms are longer. This further develops children's understanding that people have different skills and abilities.
• Children are learning to keep themselves healthy. The very youngest children laugh and giggle as staff sing 'rub, rub, rub' as they put soap on children's hands. Older children happily wash their hands, singing as they do this and proudly show how well their hands are dried.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• expand what children already know and can talk about through careful commenting and questioning to lengthen discussions
• support staff to develop consistency when modelling language, to help young children to hear and use the correct pronunciation of words.