Norfolk House Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thrive at this warm and welcoming nursery. They enter happily and are keen to leave their parents to join in with the activities on offer. Staff place a high priority on supporting children's emotional development. They are kind and nurturing, and children form close bonds with them. Staff take time to gather information from parents when children join. This ensures they can plan for children's needs and routines from the start. Children attend gradual settling-in sessions to help them to slowly adjust to the nursery environment. New children soon demonstrate the happiness and confidence that their peers show in abundance. Children benefit from a wealth of activities and resources to engage them in fun and purposeful play.

Staff promote independence from an early age. Children learn the skills they need to help prepare them for later life. Babies take part in activities to support them with self-feeding. They enjoy messy play with spaghetti and tools to develop their small-muscle skills. Tentative first steps are taken as the youngest children eagerly reach out to key members of staff, holding hands out to them. Toddlers and pre-school children pour their own drinks and serve their own meals. They put their own coats on, persevering to fasten buttons and zips.

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

• Leaders and staff implement a strong and sequenced curriculum to prepare children well for the next stage of their education, including school. Staff prioritise communication and language development to support children to grow into confident communicators. Older children happily engage in conversations with adults, asking questions and talking companionably with others. They talk about the routines of the nursery, what they enjoy and their home life.
• Staff work well in partnership with other professionals, such as health visitors and nutritionists. This ensures children and families receive extra support to promote children's overall development. Staff are swift to identify and address any gaps or delays in learning. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities benefit from targeted support to ensure they make good progress from their starting points.
• Children learn to behave well. Staff support them to share and take turns. Children develop good manners. They play together cooperatively and older children begin to form friendships. Staff engage children with circle time activities and stories to help focus children's attention from a young age.
• Staff plan experiences for children to help expand their knowledge of the wider world. They take children out on trips in the local community. Children begin to learn about mathematical concepts on a local walk, as staff encourage them to look for numbers in the environment.
• Sensory and messy play activities are plentiful for each age group. Children become engrossed as they explore trays of water, cereals and other natural materials. Staff encourage and motivate children to explore the different textures. Children make dough and then use their hands, fingers and tools to manipulate and mould it into shapes.
• Partnerships with parents are a particular strength of the nursery. Staff share information in a variety of ways. Staff talk to parents daily and share general information on an electronic app. They invite parents in for stay-and-play sessions and parents' evenings. Staff send home activities and learning packs for children to enjoy at home. There is also a lending library scheme, which adds to ways parents can build on children's learning at home.
• The overall quality of teaching is good, with elements of strong teaching practice in place. Staff feel extremely well supported and morale is high. They benefit from regular supervision sessions to enhance their practice further. Some staff are not as skilled with their interactions and questioning to promote children's learning at the highest level. Leaders implement further training to raise the quality of teaching even higher.
• Staff know children very well. They plan activities based on children's current likes and interests. However, not all staff use observation and assessment information precisely enough. They do not focus their planning consistently on what individual children need to learn next, to promote the best possible progress.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• continue to focus the professional development of staff on raising the quality of teaching to a consistently higher level
• support staff to use assessment information more precisely to focus on what individual children need to learn next.