Nuffy Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive very happily and are warmly welcomed by staff, who know them exceptionally well. Staff are respectful and gentle in their interactions with children. They calmly narrate what is happening when changing younger children's nappies and during their play. This helps children feel safe and secure and develops their language. Staff working with older children are genuinely interested in their thoughts and ideas. Children are very confident and have levels of high self-esteem.

Children play cooperatively and manage disputes themselves. Staff help them to understand their feelings and the impact of their behaviour on others. Children build strong relationships with each other. They say they will miss their friends when they go on holiday. Children are highly motivated to join in. They listen intently as staff read stories and focus for long periods of time when engaging in self-directed play, such as painting and bug hunting.

Staff interactions with children are of a consistently high quality. They expertly introduce new language and use questioning effectively to encourage children to solve problems. For example, children suggest trying 'blazing speed' to make things 'cook' faster. Staff skilfully challenge children to extend their learning across the curriculum. Children 'cooking' in the role-play area learn to recognise numbers as they count how long it takes and measure the length of the spaghetti.

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

• The newly appointed manager has supported and coached staff very effectively since the last inspection. She has implemented robust monitoring and supervision and targeted training for all staff. This has improved practice and raised standards dramatically. As a result, all children are now making excellent progress, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Staff report high levels of well-being and feel valued by leaders and managers. Staff morale is high and they demonstrate their enjoyment in their work through their interactions with each other, parents and children. This creates a positive and warm environment for everyone.
• The curriculum is exceptionally well planned and sequenced. Staff skilfully and consistently implement it across the nursery, building on what children already know and can do. This ensures children are very well prepared for their next stage in education, including school.
• The manager has implemented significant improvements to the way staff work in partnership with parents. For example, introducing a monthly 'parent forum.' Parents speak very highly of staff and the care and education their children receive. They say they 'trust' staff and that the new manager has been instrumental in raising standards.
• Staff work creatively with parents to extend learning at home. Children take 'wow' cards home to record their achievements and display them on the 'wow tree' in the nursery. Parents and staff work cooperatively to decide children's next steps. This ensures continuity and meaningful learning at home and at nursery.
• Children who speak English as an additional language benefit from targeted support to ensure they make excellent progress in their development of English. Parents complete translation sheets, so staff know and can pronounce key words. Dual language books are shared with home. This ensures that children's home languages are also valued.
• Staff encourage children to develop their imagination through exciting activities and conversations. Staff and children pretend to go on a 'boat' and 'train' trip together in the garden, considering all the places they might go and dealing with 'leaves blocking the track'. This helps children learn to be creative and to work together to solve problems.
• Children are encouraged to make marks in meaningful ways. They develop fine motor skills as they write 'secret notes' on post-it notes, paint with natural paintbrushes, make marks on chalk boards and manipulate play dough with tools. This helps build muscles for early writing.
• The manager has implemented robust procedures to improve collaboration with other early years providers that children also attend. Staff work with parents to gather information about other settings and share information with them regularly. This ensures that children achieve the best possible outcomes.
• Children are extremely physically active. They go for regular walks and older children have weekly swimming lessons. Older children run, jump, ride on trikes, balance and climb in the garden. Younger children climb on the baby gym and explore using a range of sensory materials. This helps keep children healthy.