Millennium Minis Riverside

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy at this friendly and welcoming nursery. They settle in their environment with their parents, and practitioners gather key information to support them through their day. Children form good relationships with practitioners. New children seek their key person for comfort when they feel unsettled. This demonstrates that children feel safe and secure in their care.

Children explore the setting independently and choose their resources. Practitioners follow children's lead and encourage them to follow their own ideas. For example, children decide to cook their play dough pizza. They discuss how they can cook it with a practitioner, before taking it to the home area to cook in the pretend oven. Children enjoy learning and make good progress. They choose from a range of activities that support their interests and development.

Children behave well. They show good listening skills with their peers and practitioners. Children show respect for their environment, as they use resources with care. Practitioners are positive role models. They speak kindly to each other and give children gentle reminders to say 'please' and 'thank you'. Children interact well with each other. They demonstrate independence and problem-solving skills. For instance, children dress up in school uniform in the home area. They put on trousers, skirts and jumpers by themselves and ask each other for help with fastenings at the back.

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

• Leaders have clear intentions for what they want children to learn. They support practitioners to implement a curriculum that supports children to become confident, independent and develop their skills in readiness for school.
• All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), progress well. Practitioners know their key children well. They provide learning experiences that challenge them and develop specific skills to support them to achieve their next steps in learning. However, some adult-led group activities are too long, and children become distracted, which impacts on their engagement.
• The special educational needs and/or disabilities coordinator has a good knowledge of all children with additional needs. She works well with parents, practitioners and other professionals to create individual learning plans to provide specific support to help close any gaps in children's learning.
• Practitioners support children's language development. They model language throughout the day and hold conversations that are rich in language. For example, practitioners discuss children's meaningful experiences from home, such as birthdays and trips. Younger children benefit from regular stories in a group and one to one with practitioners.
• Children are supported to develop early mathematical skills. Children count during their play and do simple addition. They develop an awareness of mathematical language. Practitioners thread a range of words into activities to describe size. For instance, during a block activity, children describe their building as 'gigantic' and 'tall'.
• Children have regular access to the outdoors. They go for walks, visit local parks and use the nursery's outdoor space daily. Practitioners provide resources and activities, such as play dough and threading, to support children to strengthen the muscles in their wrists and hands in readiness for writing.
• Leaders use additional funding to enhance the provision. For instance, funding is used for the provision of additional staff, allowing practitioners the time to work individually with children with SEND. They also use it to improve outcomes for children from disadvantaged backgrounds through experiences and resources that meet their individual needs.
• Children are given time and encouragement to be independent in their self-care skills. For instance, children wipe their own noses at the nose station. They look in the mirror to check it is clean before putting their tissues in the bin. At mealtimes, children skilfully pour their own drinks and serve their own food. This equips children with essential skills for later life.
• Leaders have a clear focus on the well-being of practitioners to ensure that they are happy in their place of work. They have regular supervision sessions to celebrate their achievements and discuss areas for improvement. Leaders support practitioners to gain their qualifications and provide various training and team-building opportunities. Practitioners state that they feel supported in their role.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• help children to remain engaged and focused, such as by considering the length of time that they are expected to sit and listen during adult-led activities.