Nina's Nursery Limited

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive with beaming smiles, eager to start their day. They are extremely secure and settled in this nurturing pre-school. This is because staff work hard to build trusting relationships with both children and their families. As a result, children show they are comfortable from their first day in the setting.

Staff skilfully use children's personal experiences to support their communication development. For example, children who have recently returned from family trips abroad cuddle up to adults to share their holiday photos. Staff use these times to creatively introduce new vocabulary. This approach helps children become confident communicators.

Staff collect detailed information from parents about children's needs. They use this to plan exciting activities that engage children. For instance, children's recent visit to Paris leads to enthusiastic building of the Eiffel Tower. Staff help children to extend their imaginative play. As a result, children are motivated, confident and curious as they explore their environment, which is centred around their interests.

Staff support children to understand the importance of turn-taking and using good manners. They are actively involved in keeping their environment safe and tidy. Children are kind, friendly and well behaved, showing positive social skills. This helps children develop lifelong skills for their future.

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

• The management team has a strong and ambitious vision for providing high-quality care and education to children. The plans include developing a curriculum that supports children in becoming school-ready. However, leaders have not ensured that all staff have a clear understanding of the curriculum intentions or what they want children to learn. This leads to occasional inconsistencies in how staff deliver the curriculum across the pre-school.
• Children show a strong desire to be independent. At snack time, they are encouraged to collect and position their own chairs around the table. They demonstrate pride when they successfully complete a task, such as disposing of their peelings and tidying up without being asked. This helps to foster a sense of independence and supports children in building confidence in their own abilities.
• Staff support children's physical skills well. The outdoor learning environment is utilised to challenge and enhance children's large-muscle skills such as pushing and carrying prams. Inside, children develop their finger muscles through activities using a range of tools and skills such as using tongs to serve toast and peeling bananas. These experiences are a good foundation for building dexterity needed for early writing.
• There is strong focus on promoting children's communication and language development. Children are encouraged to express their interests and communicate openly. This makes them feel valued. However, the curriculum for promoting children's critical-thinking skills is less well implemented. Staff are less skilled in helping children to learn how to think through and answer questions independently.
• Staff have a clear understanding of what children need for their personal, social and emotional development. They focus on teaching important social skills such as sharing and taking turns. For instance, when making play dough, children work together by sharing ingredients such as flour and water and using different tools to mix. This teamwork helps children to be caring and respectful towards others.
• Children have plenty of opportunities to learn about the community they live in. Parents are complimentary about the variety of outings, including visits to shops, the forest and a library. Additionally, children take part in a postcard exchange, sending postcards and receiving postcards from around the world. This sparks interest in different cultures. Children are developing a sense of identity and their place in the wider community and world.
• Staff are effective in engaging with other professionals when needed, making referrals to external services and signposting parents to support from other professionals. This helps to ensure that all children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, receive the support that they need so they can make progress from their individual starting points.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen support for all staff to understand the curriculum intention and implement it consistently
• strengthen the curriculum for communication and language to promote children's thinking skills.