Naturally Learning Redruth

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children receive an excellent start to their early education at this unique and inspiring nursery. Leaders and staff know children and their families very well. They recognise each child as a unique individual and have the highest aspirations for them. Staff provide every child with the same opportunities and experiences. For example, pre-school children have daily forest school visits, where they learn real life skills, learn how to manage and take risks and explore nature alongside highly trained and knowledgeable staff.

Highly qualified leaders and the exceptional staff team create and deliver an inclusive, broad and meaningful curriculum for all that attend. Children are central to the activities passionate staff plan. Staff are highly reflective and constantly review learning to ensure children are learning what they intend. For instance, staff skilfully create a baking activity. Children show high levels of concentration while developing their small physical movements when they mix, tip and pour to create their mixture. Staff focus on the process and give children time to think and explore. Staff introduce vocabulary like 'ingredients' and 'pollination' and encourage children to make links to previous learning when they discuss honey and how it is made.

Staff create a calm, nurturing environment that helps ensure all children are safe and secure. They use their in-depth knowledge of each child to meet their needs. Babies who have recently started are very well settled. They enjoy cuddles with staff, who are attentive to their care needs. Older children show remarkable levels of confidence when they explore their environment and engage in meaningful learning experiences. Children seek staff for reassurance and thrive on the high-quality interactions they provide them.

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

• Inspiring, passionate leaders support and value their staff team. They are mindful of the pressures of workload and personal circumstances and are extremely supportive and responsive to staff needs. Staff report on the exceptional levels of support they receive and share that the leaders are approachable and go above and beyond to ensure they are happy in their roles. Staff have various training opportunities tailored to their learning needs and the needs of the children. For example, most recently, staff have attended training on neurodivergence to help them best support and understand children's behaviour successfully. Staff use this knowledge and implement it in practice to ensure children are included and feel valued.
• Staff are exceptional role models for children. They speak to each other and children with kindness and respect. Staff support children's emotional well-being.
• They empower them to make their own choices and give them time to develop their independence. Passionate staff use all routine activities as learning opportunities for children. They support children from a young age to begin to recognise their toileting needs. All children learn to feed themselves with cutlery, drink from open cups and tidy away when they have finished. Children develop high levels of independence and self-esteem from an early age.
• Experienced staff promote children's language and communication at every opportunity. Staff use Makaton signs alongside language across the nursery to promote all types of communication. When babies share stories with staff, they look to staff and initiate interactions with Makaton signs and label what they see in the book. Staff respond to babies with meaning and praise their interactions. Older children confidently initiate conversations with adults and their friends. Staff skilfully link conversations to the curriculum and weave mathematical language throughout. For example, during sensory exploration, staff use words like more, less, bigger and smaller and ask children to estimate what they think. Children are confident to use mathematical language and value communication.
• Leaders and staff create exceptional partnerships with parents as soon as their children start at the nursery. There is an in-depth settling-in period tailored to the needs of the children to help ensure parents feel confident leaving their children and know their needs are met. Parents share that the nursery provides an 'enriching' and 'calming' environment for their children and staff go 'above and beyond' to make all feel valued and welcome. They speak of the excellent opportunities the nursery provides their children. Parents receive information about what their children are learning via an online application and extensive handovers at the end of each day.
• All children receive excellent support and make very good progress in learning. Leaders and highly trained staff work closely with parents and outside agencies to ensure referrals are made in a timely manner so that children get the support they need at the nursery and in preparation for the move to school. Staff recognise the long wait for external interventions. They use their extensive knowledge to create individual plans for children to provide them with inclusive, exciting learning opportunities tailored to their specific needs.