New Cross Community Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are extremely happy and settled and thrive in the enabling environments staff have created. They benefit from accessing an abundance of activities that facilitate all children to make exceptional progress. Managers and staff have designed a curriculum that enables children to learn and develop skills, knowledge, language and independence incrementally. Children demonstrate exceptional behaviour and are courteous towards their friends and staff. They show delight as they engage in using magnetic rods to catch fish from an imaginary ocean. They take turns to count how many fish they have caught. Staff provide opportunities for children to be inquisitive. They enjoy exploring the natural world around them and take turns and share ingredients to make bird feed. Staff support children to feel safe and secure. Children have developed extremely strong attachments with their key persons. Babies use sign language to sign key vocabulary and eagerly join in singing nursery rhymes. They confidently express how they are feeling during circle time.

Outside, children are working hard to fix bicycles at the 'bike repair shop'. They wear high-visibility jackets and helmets, exercising caution using the different tools. Staff encourage children to take risks and motivate them to use the balance beam. This develops children's ability to balance and travel in different ways.

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

• Staff support children exceptionally well to learn about leading healthy lifestyles. They provide healthy, balanced and nutritious meals and snacks that all children enjoy. Staff are committed to helping children to develop their independence skills and learn to manage their personal self-care routines.
• Children demonstrate exemplary behaviour, manners and conduct. Staff have the highest expectations of children's behaviour. They have established clear strategies to support children to learn about rules, boundaries and learning behaviours. Children thrive in the extremely nurturing environment. Staff are extremely attentive and caring. Children actively learn about sustainable environments, participate in recycling and carry out charity work.
• Staff support children to develop a love of reading extremely well. Children are captivated by the excitement that staff exude during story time. They bring the story and characters to life by using props to enhance children's comprehension. Children are excited to explore the ambitious new vocabulary staff introduce.
• Passionate staff support all children exceptionally well to develop their communication and language skills, particularly children who speak English as an additional language. Staff use key vocabulary from children's home language to enhance their acquisition of English.
• Dedicated managers and staff have worked hard to construct a curriculum that factors in the needs of all the children and the local community. They ensure their system of teaching works cohesively with the seven areas of learning, supporting exceptional progress. For example, children learn to take care of a pet snail. Staff teach children about habitat and the food the snail would like to eat. This has helped children enhance their understanding of the word 'omnivore'.
• Staff plan ample opportunities to ensure that all children develop their gross and fine motor skills exceptionally well. Young babies have the opportunity to safely develop their climbing skills with assistance from staff. Staff weave practising fine motor skills and dexterity into each activity. For example, they deliberately provide activities where children are encouraged to open a basket lid or a cupboard door.
• Managers and staff regularly evaluate the provision, taking into account the views of parents, children and staff, with consistent monitoring systems in place to drive forward improvements continually. They are extremely committed to providing the best possible learning experience and environment for children. Managers ensure that staff benefit from receiving regular staff training and supervision sessions. Each staff member has a personalised professional development plan and receives mentoring and coaching from the pedagogy coach.
• Parents are extensively complimentary about the dedicated staff and the excellent curriculum that supports their children to make exceptional progress. They speak passionately about the extraordinary personal development they have seen with their children. They appreciate the rigorous support they receive from staff to continue to help their children practise skills at home. They share how grateful they are for the support provided by managers and staff to support their children's transition to school.
• Staff use children's home language to support and develop their English language acquisition very well. Children and parents benefit from celebrating diversity and appreciating the culture, festivals and ethnicities of all children and staff by attending 'cultural day'. This is organised by staff and enables each child to celebrate their identity and feel valued.
• Staff possess excellent knowledge of how to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff benefit from receiving extensive support from a fully trained 'SEND champion' staff member. They also benefit from working with the special educational needs coordinator lead from the organisation to develop their skills and knowledge. This facilitates staff to support children with SEND effectively to make good progress.