Nature Trail Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children flourish in this outstanding nursery. Staff are passionate and motivated to deliver a well-thought-out and purposeful curriculum. They expertly use information from parents, in addition to their own observations, to precisely plan the experiences they offer to children. This high-quality curriculum incorporates children's individual interests and identified learning goals. The impact of this is demonstrated when children become deeply engaged in purposeful play and thoughtful conversations. Staff are highly skilled communicators who create a safe, interesting and language-rich environment. All children make excellent and rapid progress.

Care routines are sensitive. Staff ask children to take part and explain why these routines are important. This respectful behaviour modelled by staff is mirrored in children's interactions. Staff encourage children to contribute their own ideas. For example, children show extremely high levels of engagement as they measure flour using scales, checking the numbers and adding more. The whole curriculum centres around children's curiosity and encouraging them to make their own choices about how they use resources. Staff praise children frequently. This celebration of success helps children build a positive attitude to hard work and confidence to 'have a go'.

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

• Leaders have developed a well-sequenced curriculum. There is clear intent for learning that is fully understood and promoted by all members of staff. Leaders support staff to engage in reflective practice to help them make continuous improvements. The staff share the nursery vision and are committed to the work they do to help children have the best start in life. Consequently, children benefit from a highly skilled and dedicated staff team.
• Staff provide excellent opportunities for children to discover a love of reading. For example, pre-school children excitedly settle down to listen to the story 'The Gingerbread Man'. Children delight as they loudly join in to finish the rhyme. Staff skilfully use the story as a base to extend children's understanding of different topics. They discuss how the horse is 'cantering' and 'galloping'. Staff expertly teach children about the role of authors and illustrators. They also help children learn about story formats and develop their memory skills. Children develop excellent early literacy skills.
• Staff support children to become highly independent and motivated. Children show sustained levels of concentration. For example, children learn about the importance of following a recipe and adding the correct quantities of ingredients when making biscuits. They use previous knowledge from making play dough through trial and error. They develop their understanding of what happens to the mixture when the ingredients are not measured accurately. Staff challenge children's thinking and problem-solving skills. Children learn that adding more flour reduces the water and helps the dough to develop 'elasticity' and 'stretch'.
• Children's behaviour is exemplary. Staff members consistently model respectful behaviour and boundaries. They praise and encourage children which supports their strong self-esteem. Staff are nurturing and children display a high level of respect and support among each other. Children follow simple rules and regulate their own behaviour, with gentle reminders from staff. The environment is consistently calm and purposeful and benefits children's listening skills.
• Staff support children's physical development very well. Children have an abundance of opportunities to develop their physical skills. They demonstrate excellent core muscle skills. For example, children dance and move their bodies to music, with great enthusiasm, during a dance session. Children learn about their community and the wider world around them as they take their weekly walk to the local park. Furthermore, staff arrange for weekend parent and children walks to local areas and take part in community days. Daily access to outdoor play and learning helps enhance children's overall well-being.
• Parents speak very highly of the nursery and staff. They say that they feel extremely involved in what is happening and that staff truly know their child and their individual needs. The effective and ongoing communication with parents enhances the consistency of children's learning. This helps children make excellent progress in all areas of learning.