MNS Kids Ltd T/as Turville Nursery Northend

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children happily enter the nursery, where warm and friendly staff greet them. Staff effectively implement a flexible settling-in process. They have identified the need to focus on children who struggle to settle as an impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Children are safe, secure and form good relationships with staff. This helps children to develop personal, social and emotional skills. Staff know children very well and identify specific needs and next steps. They use this information to plan the environment to ensure all children have access to a wide variety of learning opportunities.

Staff focus on getting children ready for their next stage in education and teach them skills to help with this. Children learn to take care of themselves. For example, staff support children who are toilet training and work in partnership with parents to achieve this. They help children understand their needs. For instance, staff support children who recognise when they need the toilet. They extend this learning and introduce ways to promote self-care further. For example, staff talk about the importance of dental hygiene and children have the chance to practise brushing their teeth. Children engage in play and behave well. All children make good progress, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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

• Staff focus on a curriculum based on curiosity, independence and respect. They provide activities to allow children to be curious and explore the world around them. Staff remind children of the rules and boundaries of nursery and have high expectations for behaviour and respect. For example, they ask children to use 'kind hands' with their friends. Overall, staff promote independence well, inviting children to do tasks for themselves, such as tidying equipment away before lunchtime.
• Staff recognise communication and language as key skills they want children to learn. They implement strategies to promote this, such as a daily circle time where they sing songs and read a story. Staff extend this by talking to children about activities and asking them questions. For example, they ask children to identify the colour of the pencil they would like to use. However, the organisation of group activities is not fully effective, as children become unsettled due to having to sit for long periods of time.
• Staff ensure children have regular access to the garden, which provides them with fresh air and space to exercise. Children develop physical skills from using the different resources available. For example, they experience kicking a ball and scooping and pouring in the sand and water pits. Staff extend the learning from inside the nursery to outside. They follow children's interest in insects and provide activities to support this. For example, staff give children a printed sheet of insects to find outside and magnifying glasses to see them. Children work well together with their friends to achieve this.
• Staff attend regular meetings to discuss the nursery and their plans for the children who attend. The manager fully supports staff and is very approachable. Staff say she is supportive, understanding and a good listener. They have access to training courses to extend their early years knowledge. They identify further training needs which the manager always supports.
• Staff have effective partnerships with parents. Staff provide regular feedback at drop-off and pick-up times and during parents' evenings. Parents compliment staff at the nursery. They say that staff are 'amazing', take great care of their children and offer a wonderful range of activities. Parents feel that children make good progress, for example in confidence skills and communication and language. They say the nursery is always clean and safe and that staff provide home-cooked, healthy food. They state that children talk about their time at nursery with great excitement and enthusiasm.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review and refine the planning of group times to more effectively engage and maintain children's interest and promote the intended learning.