N Family Club Hackney Downs

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Leaders and managers have created a warm and welcoming environment for children and their families. Parents can choose to use the open family area, sitting with their children and sharing a croissant, piece of fruit and glass of milk. They catch up with each other or read their children stories as they eat, before they take them happily along to their rooms. Children are excited to see what is on offer as part of the setting's ambitious curriculum.

The behaviour of children is good. Staff are positive role models for children. Children form secure friendships and display acts of kindness to each other without any prompting. For example, children see others have very dirty hands from playing with the crazy foam and bring them over a tissue to wipe their hands.

Staff have high expectations of children. They encourage children to be independent, even within the youngest age groups. Staff provide a 'snuffle station' in each room to encourage children to look into the mirror and wipe their own noses, helping to develop their confidence and a positive sense of self. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported within the setting. Staff work swiftly with parents and other agencies to ensure that referrals and individual support plans are put in place.

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

• Staff know children well. They talk with confidence about the progress children have made and what it is children need to learn next. There is a strong key-person system in place. Children check in with key staff for comfort and reassurance when needed. They are eager to share their experiences with staff, calling them to show them something new. For example, when children discover they can use a stick as a bat to hit balls in the garden.
• The curriculum for communication and language is well implemented. Children are exposed to a language-rich environment full of repetition, narrative and conversation. The setting also uses Makaton signs across all age groups, giving all children, but especially those younger babies and children with special educational needs additional ways to communicate their wants and needs. Children confidently use signs, such as 'more, please' and 'thank you'.
• Staff take care to provide children with activities and experiences that are exciting, allow them to use their imaginations and develop their knowledge of the world around them. However, on occasion, when children are engaged in activities, staff can be too quick to problem solve for children, as opposed to giving them time and space to build resilience and achieve success through trial and error.
• The nursery provides an environment where children develop a love of books. In the family area, parents and children share books together at the beginning and end of the day. Each room has its own reading area, which children confidently use to independently look at books. Staff provide a cushioned area in the garden with books available and children eagerly gather to listen as staff begin to read. Each room has a book of the week and children become familiar with stories, joining in with the familiar refrains, such as in the book 'We're Going on a Bear Hunt'.
• At present, the period between finishing lunch and transitioning to rest and sleep time does not meet the needs of all children within the toddler room. Some children can be sat waiting at the table for too long while they wait for their turn to have their nappy changed and move to the sleep area. This leads to them becoming restless.
• Partnership with parents is excellent. Parents speak extremely highly of the nursery and all staff. They appreciate the nutritious and healthy meals their children receive. Parents feel well informed about their children's development and how they can further support this at home.
• Staff feel well supported, with regular supervision sessions and training opportunities through the company's academy. Staff feel valued to develop as 'educated educators' and are supported to grow into more senior roles when ready. Staff value the open-door policy that managers operate.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop strategies to give children more time to problem solve independently, to develop their resilience before stepping in
• look at how the transition from mealtimes to sleep times can be arranged, to avoid children sitting and waiting for prolonged periods of time.