Mulberry Bush Nursery and Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The nursery is warm and cosy with natural resources throughout. Staff have carefully planned the space to reflect the nursery's vision of 'a home from home' for children. The dedicated and skilled team places high priority on meeting all children's needs. Children receive warm and nurturing care, which contributes to children demonstrating high levels of emotional security. A well-planned and carefully considered induction process means that children experience a secure transition to nursery and between rooms. Information collected from parents when children start nursery means any gaps in children's learning are quickly identified and appropriate support is promptly put in place.

Staff plan an ambitious curriculum, helping all children to make excellent progress in their learning and development. Staff consistently engage in high-quality, back- and-forth conversations with children, extending their thinking and introducing new vocabulary throughout the day. For children who learn English as an additional language, staff use basic signs alongside words to support their language development equally well.

Children are busy and active at the nursery. Staff model expected behaviours, so children learn rules and boundaries with ease. They carefully incorporate decision-making opportunities into everyday routines, helping children understand the importance of sharing and taking turns. They are encouraged to listen to each other and value each other's opinions. This creates a calm and respectful learning environment for children.

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

• Staff consistently support children to develop their self-help and independence skills. For example, children are entirely self-sufficient at lunchtime. They serve themselves their lunch and pour their own drinks. When finished, they scrape their leftovers into the bin, wash up and wipe down their tables. These high expectations from staff, and excellent opportunities for children, promote developing lifelong self-care habits.
• Staff promote children's listening, attention and communication skills extremely well. For example, staff encourage children to put on their 'listening ears' before they engage in lively conversations about the weather and days of the week. Children giggle and laugh together as they join in action songs and recall familiar nursery rhymes. Children are confident communicators.
• Staff are astute to children's interests and use these to help develop their attention and concentration skills. For example, children's interest in dinosaurs is creatively extended to the large construction area. Staff ask thoughtful questions to extend their thinking, helping them to wonder what dinosaurs might eat.
• Children learn that some dinosaurs were vegetarians and only ate plants. Children are keen and interested learners.
• Staff offer a variety of activities to support children's learning and development. The garden offers children a selection of resources to develop their strength, balance and coordination. Children carefully navigate obstacle courses and learn to pedal bicycles. Staff's positive praise contributes to children taking pride in their achievements.
• Management and staff are highly passionate about outdoor learning for children and plan inspiring and stimulating activities. With the children, they grow fruits and vegetables from seed, helping children to learn about plants. Staff carefully prepare and use what they grow in snacks and meals for children to eat. This helps children to learn where their food comes from, contributing to healthy eating habits for life.
• Management places a strong focus on the positive well-being of the staff team. Staff speak highly of the support they receive. They say that they receive regular well-being assistance, one-to-one supervision sessions and opportunities for training and development. This fosters a motivated and valued team.
• Nursery staff have highly effective relationships with parents. They show a genuine desire to ensure that parents' needs are being met, understanding the positive impact this has on children. Staff are warm and reassuring in their communication and work hard to keep lines of communication open. Parents are highly complimentary. They say that staff nurture their children's interests and keep them updated on their learning and development. They praise the team highly and say that their children are safe and secure here.
• Management keeps up to date with developments in the early years by accessing training offered by the local authority. They spend time alongside staff modelling best practice and have a strong vision for the nursery. They are kind and caring, and work hard to support staff and families.