Nära Charlbury Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff prioritise children's safety. They supervise children closely and ensure that the premises are secure. In addition, they greet children and their families with lots of smiles. They welcome children into the nursery and help them feel positive about the day ahead. As a result, they ensure that children are not just physically safe but also feel emotionally secure. Staff clearly explain to children about acceptable behaviour. Throughout the nursery, children are helpful and respectful.

Children learn well. Staff are clear about what they want children to learn and how they are going to teach new skills and knowledge. Overall, teaching is well matched to the age and stage of the children. Throughout the nursery, children's language development is given a high priority. Staff model language clearly, adapting their interactions well to the different ages of children. Children in pre-school show that over their time at nursery they have received effective support for their speaking and listening skills. They are able to hold thoughtful conversations. They have learned well to identify different sounds and rhymes and are ready for more formal phonics learning at school.

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

• Since the last inspection, leaders and staff have developed robust procedures at mealtimes to keep children safe. Staff ensure that children are closely supervised when eating. In addition, they have improved how these times are used to teach social skills. For example, children are taught about good manners. Staff organise these times very well to ensure that children learn about the pleasure of social mealtimes with friends.
• Leaders have made many improvements to the provision. They have built a motivated staff team that shares their vision for the nursery. Leaders put in place a comprehensive programme of professional development opportunities. The impact of this is seen in the good-quality teaching seen throughout the nursery. For example, staff now use their interactions with children very effectively to encourage thinking and problem-solving.
• Leaders act with integrity and put the best interests of children at the heart of their decision-making. They ensure that all children can benefit from the same range of enriching learning experiences. They ensure that any additional funding is used effectively to meet children's needs. They provide a warm welcome for all children and families.
• Staff accurately identify children who may need extra support to make the progress they are capable of. They put in place a highly effective programme of support to focus on the specific aspects of development where children are struggling. The impact of this is seen in the progress children make with their social, language and play skills. It is also seen in how relaxed and confident these children are.
• Staff encourage children to come together as a group to listen to stories, sing songs or take part in other useful experiences. However, sometimes, staff do not recognise when children need help to understand what they will be doing to help them focus and engage well. At these times, children become easily distracted, and teaching is not as effective as at other times.
• Babies receive highly effective support to help them settle, enjoy nursery and learn new skills. Staff working with babies are very nurturing. They offer all the cuddles and reassurance babies need to settle well into their new environment. Staff make and adapt resources. For example, they make boxes into shape sorters so they offer just the right level of challenge. Babies show great delight in seeing pictures of themselves on resources and cards. Babies show very high levels of well-being.
• Overall, the learning environment is inviting. However, staff have not fully taken account of younger children's needs when setting up resources and activities. Some younger children show that they find the sheer abundance of resources a little overwhelming. This impacts on their ability to focus and engage in meaningful, independent play.
• Parents are full of praise. Staff support parents well to build further on children's learning at home, such as through the lending of resources and meetings to help parents prepare their children for the move to school.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• improve the organisation of some whole-group activities, so that children can consistently get the most from these learning opportunities
• develop the learning environment for younger children to further support them to focus and learn well during periods of self-chosen play.