Millies House Nursery & Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are confident, happy and have a keen sense of belonging and togetherness. On arrival, they know the routines and understand what to do. Children respond to the warm and welcoming greetings from staff and enjoy a calm start to the day. Staff acknowledge the feelings and emotions of children and give them space and time to enter and explore their surroundings. Children learning to separate from their parents and carers are gently comforted. They enjoy being held close by staff and settle quickly. Children form positive attachments with their key persons. They explore boundaries and respond positively to instructions. This helps to affirm a sense of self.

Children are highly motivated to play and learn. They have a go, persevere and feel happy with their own accomplishments. For example, older babies create their own circuit to explore in the local playground, and enjoy feeding themselves at lunchtime. Children enjoy playing alongside their peers throughout the day.

Staff know their key children well and make accurate assessments of their learning. Staff understand the needs of the children and know where they need help the most. Gaps in learning are promptly identified and staff plan suitably challenging experiences.

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

• Parental partnership is strong. Parents feel informed about their children's learning and development and are pleased with their children's progress. Staff seek the views of parents and welcomes their suggestions. For example, additional trips around the local community are organised to encourage outdoor learning for children.
• The manager has an ambitious vision for the nursery. She regularly evaluates the quality of the provision and identifies strengths and weaknesses in practice. Staff are supported to improve their performance through coaching, support and training. However, staff need additional support to ensure that transition times during the day run more smoothly. There are occasions when staff do not always have oversight and, as a result, do not act promptly during these times.
• Staff understand the importance of identifying when children may benefit from additional help in their learning. They understand children's needs and make good use of information from external specialists to meet children's needs effectively.
• Staff attend to children's personal care needs flexibly. They are sensitive to children's sleeping patterns and provide reassurance during personal care routines, such as nappy changing.
• Staff know their key children well and make accurate assessments of their learning. They understand the needs of the children and know where they need help the most. Gaps in learning are promptly identified and staff plan suitably challenging experiences.
• The curriculum for the nursery provides children with important skills and knowledge. Opportunities for learning are suitably challenging across the age range of children attending. The curriculum is further enriched with experiences linked to children's interests. Staff find out about children's interests and plan experiences to extend their learning. For example, dinosaurs have been added to activities in the outdoor area to further engage children in new and unfamiliar experiences.
• Children learn important physical development skills. Older babies develop their core strength and stability as they climb up and down the stairs independently. Older children show good hand-to-eye coordination and control as they serve themselves food and pour their own drinks.
• Staff are skilled at adapting the way that they talk with children. Sounds, expressions, single words and short phrases are used to communicate with quieter and more non-verbal children. Staff confidently use more open-ended questions to develop conversations with children who are more confident communicators. This has a positive impact. For example, children can converse in full sentences while staying on a topic. Children are encouraged to develop their imaginative thinking as they talk about their interests. Staff listen and extend children's vocabulary, which helps to develop their conversational skills.
• Children develop a love of reading and enjoy sharing books with staff. Children develop good listening and book handling skills as they turn the pages carefully while absorbing the pictures.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• improve the organisation of transition times during the day to further enrich care, play and learning experiences for all children
• enhance leadership skills within the staff team and increase levels of staff confidence to identify solutions and address issues as they arise.