Mother Goose Corner Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thrive and thoroughly enjoy their time at this nursery. They arrive confidently, eager to see their friends and start the day. Children show high levels of curiosity as they explore and play. They proudly show to their friends and staff a centipede they find in the garden. Children listen carefully as staff explain where centipedes typically live. Toddlers listen intently when they hear birdsong during a group activity in the garden. They join in with actions to songs that staff sing, such as 'Two little dickie birds'.

Children benefit from the calm and relaxed environment that staff provide. They show that they have very strong bonds with staff. Children confidently seek staff out to share their ideas or seek reassurance should they feel upset. Babies receive prompt and sensitive responses from staff, who ensure their needs are met. They beam broadly as they explore gloop and crushed cereals. Older babies show their glee as they confidently climb the steps to glide down the slide under staff supervision.

Children show kindness and respect towards each other. They show increasing self-control in managing their emotions and develop a positive understanding of how to behave well. For example, at group story time, pre-school children identify the story book as a 'golden rule book' and explain that being 'angry is not helpful'.

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

• Inspirational leaders place children at the heart of everything they do. Leaders establish a highly effective and ambitious curriculum that provides staff with a clear model to help build children's knowledge and skills over time. Leaders know precisely what they want children to achieve, to help prepare them for the next stage in their education and for life in modern Britain.
• Leaders highly value and respect staff. They invest greatly in staff's continued professional development and well-being. Staff say that they feel incredibly well supported and enjoy their work. They add that they feel empowered to research and try new ideas to help develop their practice and the learning experiences for children. Staff are highly motivated to fulfil leaders' expectations for children, such as to be confident communicators whose opinions are valued.
• Parents are incredibly positive about the staff and nursery. They state that staff 'really work with them to ensure their child's development and well-being is supported and met'. Parents add that they feel exceptionally well informed about their child's progress in learning and how they can support this at home. This helps to inspire consistently positive attitudes to learning in children.
• Staff know children exceptionally well and precisely what each child needs to learn next. Staff purposely plan the learning environment to reflect children's emerging interests. They instinctively weave new words and knowledge as they talk to children and join in their play. For example, when children choose to draw their faces, staff introduce words such as forehead and chin. They expertly use mathematical language to compare the size of pencils and shapes of facial features. For instance, children draw 'upside-down triangles' to represent a nose. They confidently discuss their similarities and differences, as staff foster their understanding of the diverse world in which they live.
• Staff work exceptionally well with other professionals, ensuring the child is at the centre of all that they do. They astutely notice when children may benefit from additional support and sensitively work with parents to help them access guidance from other professionals, when appropriate. Staff working with children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive appropriate training to implement targeted interventions and support. Children make significant progress in building their confidence.
• Staff working with babies work closely with parents to mirror home routines from the start. They take time to gather information from parents and structure settling-in sessions to meet each child's individual needs. Staff show parents and babies the utmost respect. For example, they routinely seek babies' and children's consent before changing nappies.
• Children learn how to safely use knives. Staff explain the parts of the knife and show children how to chop banana for their snack. Children thoroughly enjoy the freshly prepared meals at nursery. Leaders ensure that children's specific dietary requirements are shared with all staff. Children with allergies are encouraged to know and state what they are not permitted to eat. This helps to build essential self-care skills as they move on to school.