Newbury Gardens Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Throughout the nursery, children behave well and are friendly towards everyone. They show an interest in the lives of others. When staff talk to them about their journey to work, children listen attentively and ask questions to learn more. Children learn to develop the skills they need to resolve conflicts. When two children want the same car, they talk about sharing. With support from staff, children agree to have 'two more goes', which they emphasise by showing two fingers. After their turn, they pass the car to their friend.

Children eagerly take part in the wide range of activities and experiences that staff provide for them. Children relish the opportunity to build a 'campfire'. They enjoy gathering sticks and mud to add to the pot above the pretend fire. Staff support them to gain a secure understanding of mathematical concepts. For instance, staff encourage children to compare the different sizes of the sticks, and they talk about whether to place the sticks on the top or the bottom of the 'campfire'. When staff ask children how to make the 'fire' colder, children are keen to share their ideas by making suggestions, such as ice cream and water. This helps children to develop links with their own experiences.

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

• Managers ensure that they build secure relationships with parents, staff and children. They understand the impact that everyone's well-being has on enabling children to grow and flourish while they are at nursery. This helps to fully prepare children for their future success. Managers build on this strong foundation to provide children with an environment where they can develop the vital skills they need to move on to school.
• Managers have recently made some big changes to the nursery. They have added an additional room so that children are in smaller groups. This enables staff to meet children's individual needs more effectively. Managers have also changed the staffing arrangements. All staff are in the process of building secure bonds with their key children. Children confidently engage with staff, which demonstrates that those bonds have been established quickly.
• Overall, staff support children to make progress in all areas of learning. Babies enjoy the physical challenge of learning to climb age-appropriate equipment. They beam with delight when they reach the top. Toddlers learn to develop their independence skills. They successfully feed themselves and wash their faces afterwards. Staff put photos on beds so toddlers can find where they are sleeping. Older children develop early writing skills and gain an understanding of cause and effect. For example, they enjoy pushing small cars through salt and observing the tracks that they leave behind. Staff are skilled at providing activities that children enjoy. However, their interactions do not consistently extend children's learning.
• Children learn to understand similarities and differences between themselves and others. Staff help prepare children for life in modern Britain by teaching them about different cultures. Children experience a wide range of activities to support their understanding of the world around them. For instance, they go for walks, feed the ducks and visit the mobile library. Older children have lessons in physical education and dance.
• Staff and managers act promptly when they have concerns about children. Staff provide children with special educational needs and/or disabilities with focused one-to-one support. Staff learn keywords from children's home language to support children who speak English as an additional language. Staff and managers work in partnership with parents and other agencies to ensure that children receive the support they need.
• Parents consistently give highly positive praise for managers and staff. Parents say that staff go 'above and beyond' to meet the needs of parents and their children. Their children are excited to go to nursery every day, and they benefit from the extensive variety of indoor and outdoor learning opportunities. Parents appreciate that managers and staff make themselves available to discuss their child's progress. This shows that managers and staff have successfully built strong partnerships with parents.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to achieve their aim of providing consistently high-quality interactions to motivate children in their learning.