Meridian Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The children are happy. They settle in quickly and make good progress. Children's overall well-being is integral to the care they receive at this setting. Staff are attentive and tailor support to children and their families. Children attend the farm, art gallery and local libraries together with staff and parents. Children and parents learn to use public transport together and explore their local area with support from the setting. Children and their families become members of their community as they grow in confidence. Children are emotionally secure.

Children freely explore their environment. They engage with others and staff while exploring outside. Children focus on throwing and catching balls, riding bikes and using their muscles to draw marks with chalk on the ground. The curriculum supports children to practise skills across all areas of their learning. Children have lots of choice to engage effectively in play. They have positive attitudes to learning.

Staff teach children to behave well. Children listen to instructions. They are reminded of the classroom rules to share and be kind. Children seek out staff to express their needs. Staff praise children for showing empathy to others and children overcome upsets quickly. Children listen to staff and behave well.

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

• Leaders are aware of the current developmental needs of children through careful assessments and planning. They are clear about what they want children to achieve in each age range to help them make good progress. However, sometimes, staff do not take all opportunities to build on children's next steps in learning as quickly as they could to improve their achievements.
• Staff have high expectations for all children's behaviour. They communicate effectively with children. Their language is clear and children follow instructions easily. For example, staff role model how to sweep, empty water trays and clean tables. Children enthusiastically work as a team. They are helpful and tidy away together with enthusiasm. This promotes children to be responsible team players.
• Children are enthusiastic learners. They engage well with adult-led activities. For instance, children use their listening and attention skills to create hedgehogs with play dough. They listen to staff's suggestions about how to manipulate materials to achieve the desired results. Staff engage children to concentrate for short periods of time. For example, this is evident as children explore mud kitchens, water trays and obstacle courses. Very occasionally, staff do not extend concepts to help deepen children's concentration and learning further.
• Children are independent. They use the bathroom and wash their hands competently. Staff teach children to have a go and do things for themselves.
• Children contribute to circle times by choosing their favourite songs and answering questions about shapes. Staff praise children often for their contributions. They give children the confidence to encourage one another when they are unsure of the answers. They learn from making mistakes in a safe environment. Children are resilient.
• Staff read stories with enthusiasm. Children respond to questions they ask and comment on illustrations. Staff encourage children to listen and repeat words such as, 'passion fruit'. Children make progress with their speaking. Where children speak more than one language, staff support them effectively to understand key words in English. Children communicate well.
• Staff support children's well-being to a high level. There are ample opportunities for children to experience real-life skills. Children learn about festivals, visit places of worship, shop at supermarkets to buy different fruits and plant their own pumpkins. Opportunities such as these give children a wider understanding of diversity. Children are accepting of the differences of others.
• Staff feel supported within their roles. Leaders support staff effectively, both in the setting and with their personal lives. They ensure they provide good opportunities for training and professional development, which results in staff developing their skills and working well as a team. Staff feel valued and are happy, which results in positive outcomes for children.
• Partnerships with parents are strong. The Meridian community centre hosts an abundance of support for children and their families. The setting goes over and above to support parents with learning skills, pursuing careers, and obtaining financial, parenting and well-being needs. Coffee mornings and afternoons promote ongoing support to parents and reflection of practice. As a result, children receive a positive start to their education.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen the implementation of curriculum aims to build further on children's specific learning needs
• enhance teaching to extend children's learning in ways that deepen their understanding and critical thinking skills.