Monkey Puzzle Irthlingborough

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enjoy attending this welcoming and inclusive nursery. All children receive excellent support from staff; they develop very strong and positive relationships and secure friendships with their peers. Pre-school children concentrate hard and work exceptionally well together, for example when building a fort. They are guided by staff to think deeply about how they want the fort to look when it is finished. Children discuss this in detail and successfully fix the large pieces together to make the walls and a gate. Babies build playful friendships with one another. They look for their friends and they giggle with joy as they play together. Two-year-old children show high levels of confidence for their age. They thoroughly enjoy playing the tambourine and do so with rhythm and in time to their favourite songs. They show pride in their achievement as staff and their friends give them a round of applause when the song is finished.

Children are curious and highly motivated to take part in the activities. They confidently make choices about what they do, and they behave very well. Staff help children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities to take a full part in nursery life. These children receive excellent one to one support, which enables them to play alongside their friends safely and to have the same experiences. For example, children smile with happiness when they are successful in pedalling a tricycle around the garden and laugh when they splash in the water tray.

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

• The highly effective management team work exceptionally well with the staff. They place a sharp focus on encouraging staff to continue to develop professionally. Managers successfully build on staff's confidence and recognise their individual skills, nurturing these to get the best from every member of the staff team. Staff say they feel valued by the managers who promote their well-being very effectively. The highly positive working relationships in all the nursery group rooms reflect their ethos to value every child as an individual. Staff show a real commitment to providing high-quality interactions and experiences for all the children.
• Staff show skill in their engagement with children as they play. They plan an exciting curriculum that builds on the knowledge children already have. Staff encourage babies' communication and language skills very well. They speak clearly as they play, helping babies listen, to understand and giving them time to respond. Babies smile as they reach out for a toy tiger and make a roaring sound. Pre-school children take part in natural and relaxed conversations with staff. Staff listen to children and extend their vocabulary when they use descriptive words during play, such as 'slimy' and 'slippery'.
• Staff provide children with positive support and encouragement that helps them rapidly develop confidence and learn how to share and take turns with toys. Children look out for their friends and show care for them. The atmosphere in the nursery is very nurturing and respectful. Staff respond to each child's needs. For example, they know which children find certain situations difficult, such as when they have a change of routine or during mealtimes. Staff help these children to cope with this in an extremely sensitive manner that promotes children's feelings of well-being.
• Staff speak to parents to find out about their children's experiences at home. Then they plan a rich variety of activities that widen and extend children's knowledge. For example, children develop a range of skills when they play in a pretend café. They learn about numbers as they use a till and pretend money and they practise their writing as they take food orders. Staff successfully engage children and extend their learning as they play with them.
• Staff motivate children to be curious and develop their social skills. They successfully use props to help two-year-old children begin to understand their emotions. Staff motivate children to be excited to learn how to associate different feelings with colours and share this with the toy. This helps children to talk about how they feel and has a positive impact on their behaviour and well-being.
• Parents say that the nursery staff are excellent in their care of the children. They really like the highly effective communication they receive during the day about how their child is doing and about the activities they are enjoying. Parents say they can see how their children are developing rapidly at nursery. In particular in their communication skills, their social skills, and their interest in making marks and early writing.