Martenscroft Nursery School and Sure Start Children's Centre

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive at the nursery with big smiles. Staff greet children and help them to separate from their parents. They respond sensitively to children's needs and offer them a cuddle for reassurance if they are feeling sad. This helps children to settle and feel safe. Children benefit from building relationships with the staff and their friends. For example, children seek out the staff when they have made a tower with the building blocks. Staff acknowledge their achievements by responding with positive praise. This helps to boost their self-esteem. Additionally, children work together and take turns to pour water down the tube. They smile and help each other and show respect as they share resources. Overall, children's behaviour is good. They understand the boundaries set within the nursery.

Staff set high expectations for children. They benefit from learning opportunities to support their physical development. For example, older children use the small muscles in their hands and fingers as they push dough through a garlic crusher. Younger children balance carefully along the balance beams, and the babies have learned the skill to tip and pour. This supports children to develop good physical skills, such as core strength and coordination.

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

• Leaders have built a curriculum that focuses on what they want children to learn. Additionally, staff know their key children well, including their next steps in learning. However, on some occasions, staff do not always implement these next steps into the experiences they provide for children. As a result, children's individual learning needs are not always fully captured, and some children do not sustain high levels of concentration.
• Staff are good role models to children and support children's understanding of personal hygiene. For example, they quickly attend to younger children's personal needs, such as wiping their noses. Furthermore, older children independently wash their hands after playing outdoors. This helps children to further develop their independence skills.
• Books and rhymes are a core part of this nursery. Children show excitement as they listen to stories read by staff, who read in an engaging tone of voice. Younger children benefit from rhymes and songs as they wash the babies in the water tray. They join in with the actions and sing along. As a result, children begin to develop a love for reading.
• Children's communication and language are well supported within the nursery. Some staff model language and introduce new vocabulary, such as 'scoop', 'mix' and 'squeeze', for children to listen to and copy. This helps to broaden children's growing vocabulary.
• Leaders have a clear vision for the nursery and strive for improvement. They self-reflect and, in the main, support staff with their development. Staff keep up to date with their mandatory training. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a significant change in the leadership team over the last couple of years, professional development for staff has not been focused sharply enough on supporting them to help children to consistently and coherently build on what they already know and can do.
• Leaders are keen to support parents with their children's learning and development. They provide parent evenings for parents to discuss their child's learning with their key person. This keeps the parents up to date about their child's development. Additionally, they provide workshops for parents to attend and encourage parents to take books home from the library. As a result, parents understand how to extend learning at home.
• Children learn about the diverse community they live in. They are provided with experiences within the wider world. A visit from the local farmer helped children to learn about how to care for animals. Furthermore, children learn about their community, including the different types of 'homes' and what they look like. This helps children to develop a sense of belonging.
• Leaders and staff work collaboratively to identify the children who require additional support and early intervention. They have procedures in place to help children and their families and reassure them by offering support. As a result, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) make good progress from their starting points.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen the implementation of the new curriculum and planning, supporting staff to develop a secure understanding of all children's learning intentions and next steps
• focus the professional development of staff more sharply on supporting children to consistently build on what they already know and can do.