Monkey Puzzle Muswell Hill

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children show that they are very happy and settled in this warm and welcoming nursery. For instance, babies happily put their arms up to staff to be cuddled. Older children seek out their key person to read a story. Staff plan a curriculum that challenges children. They think carefully about the skills that they want children to learn. For example, they organise activities to help children develop the physical skills they need for later writing. Babies enjoy pressing switches and door knockers. They delight in the sounds they can make. Toddlers enjoy squashing and squishing watermelon or outside with the mud, experiencing different tastes and textures and using their senses. Older children begin to make meaningful marks using a range of writing implements, and many can write their names and simple words.

Staff encourage all children to behave well. Children happily share, take turns and play cooperatively together. When the nursery was closed due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, staff made sure that they kept in touch with children and their families. They made regular calls to share ideas with parents to extend their child's learning at home. This helped children to continue to develop, and provided a smooth transition to settle them back into the setting.

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

• Staff watch children closely to find out what they know and can do. They plan activities to follow children's interests and support next steps. Parents receive lots of information about their child's progress. They have daily discussions with staff, and have access to an online assessment system, which they really appreciate. This helps to keep parents up to date with their child's learning.
• Children have many opportunities to explore and investigate, using a range of different materials. Babies excitedly clap and move in time to nursery rhyme songs. Toddlers concentrate as they pour the water from one container to another. Older children make play dough and are curious to learn how they can change the colour and smell of the dough using flowers and plants as decoration.
• Staff recognise that children had limited opportunities to develop their large physical skills during the COVID-19 pandemic. They plan many activities for children to develop their skills in this area. For example, older children practise different ways of moving with sports coaches and change into sports kits, while toddlers crawl, climb and slide down large play apparatus. Children learn to negotiate moving up and down the grassy banks on their visits to the local park.
• Children's language development is progressing well. They repeat the sounds that babies make and encourage them to join in with rhymes and songs. Staff provide a commentary on older children's play and introduce new letters and sounds, such as sounds beginning with 'e'. However, children who do not speak
• English at home would benefit from a targeted approach to help them to participate more fully.
• Staff feel well supported by managers and are happy in their roles. They have access to training to extend their knowledge. Good support is provided by the local authority, the franchise group, the sister nursery, and strong links with local schools. For example, recently, they discussed ways to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and are beginning to teach all of the children how to sign. Managers recognise that staff would benefit from a wider range of professional development opportunities in order to explore the more recent changes to early years provision.
• Children understand how to keep themselves healthy. They learn about good dental hygiene and the importance of eating a good diet. Children enjoy healthy and home-cooked meals in the nursery. They visit the local recycling bank to help them learn about looking after the environment. They care for their hamsters and learn about tending to animals.
• Adults and children learn from each other about various festivals and the wide variety of cultures that they come from. They share vocabulary in different languages.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance the learning experiences for children who do not speak English at home, building on good teaching skills to enable them to make even better progress in their communication and language development
• explore a wider range of professional development opportunities to enable staff to be up to date with the latest early years guidance and maximise the quality of education.