Nature Time Childcare

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff forge strong relationships with children and their families. They have in-depth knowledge and understanding of children's interests and specific needs, which they use to shape learning. Staff focus on children having self-belief in themselves in preparation for starting school. They focus on children taking safe risks during their play and for children to be able to assess whether they are safe and to build on their confidence and resilience. For example, children enjoy going up the stairs to come down a slide in the playroom. Children become deeply engaged in their play as they take part in rich experiences. For example, staff maximise spontaneous learning opportunities when they bring in melting snow from the garden. Children explore what it feels like. They show great curiosity as they scoop up the snow and ice.

Staff use effective questioning techniques that support children in problem-solving. For instance, children are fascinated by toy cars rolling down a ramp. Staff encourage them to work out how they can extend the ramp, so the cars run further. Children form secure attachments with staff. They seek them out for comfort when they are unsure. This supports their well-being. Staff help children to understand why behaviour rules are in place. They talk to children about what they are doing. They guide them so that they realise the impact their actions will have on others.

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

• The provider, manager and the staff are passionate about the service that they offer. They have worked exceptionally hard to implement an ambitious and well-sequenced curriculum. Learning is coherently sequenced through the child-led curriculum. Staff know what to teach children. They skilfully scaffold learning through play and daily routines.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) achieve the best possible outcomes. The special education needs coordinator for the company is passionate about her role and how she supports children and families. She works closely with parents and other professionals to develop individual intervention and support plans. These enhance children's learning and development. She helps staff to understand the curriculum focus and what children need to learn. They implement this extremely well. All children make excellent progress from their starting points.
• Staff encourage children constantly, and their enthusiasm is infectious. They continually use their excellent interaction skills with children. They use books and songs to develop children's language and communication. They take every possible opportunity to introduce and reinforce new vocabulary. For example, while children play with dough, staff introduce words such as 'squish' and
• 'backwards and forwards' when describing rolling, and 'flat'.
• Partnerships with parents are exceptional. Staff strongly believe that families come first and strive to support them with their children. They have introduced a coat-swap system where parents can swap a coat for one that fits their child. They stock a food bank that parents can help themselves to when needed. The nursery has a lending library so that parents can borrow a book to take home and read to their child before bedtime. Children are seen in the nursery to frequently handle books themselves and turn the pages.
• Children play together extremely well. For instance, a group of children worked as a team to build a tall tower with large building blocks. The staff support play by using mathematical language, such as 'big' and 'small'. They count the blocks as they are added. There is great excitement when children see whether they can make it taller than the member of staff. They assess whether it is too big and what will happen if they let go.
• The experienced and hardworking management team is extremely effective at reflecting on its practice. The team supports its dedicated members through a consistent and embedded vision. They constantly self-evaluate what works well and what could be improved on. For example, they have observed how the home corner is used by children. They plan to move it to a bigger area to accommodate the number of children who want to use it.
• The management team is highly proactive in monitoring staff practice. They work alongside staff and role model how to interact with children. Management meets with staff to discuss their well-being and the progress that individual children are making. This all helps to raise the quality of care and learning to exceptional levels.