Nurtured Nursery St Winnow

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The nursery is a delightful place for children to come to learn. Children positively flourish in this exceptional nurturing setting, where their happiness and development are paramount. Highly committed and experienced staff know the children extremely well. Strong relationships and building trust underpin the nursery's clear approach to working in partnership with families.

Children of all ages are provided with an excellent outdoor learning environment. They thoroughly enjoy experiences with confidence, excitement and determination. For example, babies are fascinated to look at the patterns made by their wellies, as they step onto snow. Staff use the opportunity exceptionally well to develop babies' interest further. They enthusiastically support babies to look and listen as they make more 'footprints', and to feel the snow with their fingers. Staff help toddlers to make snowballs. They keenly throw these against a window. Inside, staff make happy and surprised faces as the snow gently falls onto the glass. There is lots of laughter and enjoyment. Staff's interactions with children are of a high quality and contribute well to delivering the curriculum intent.

Children's behaviour is exemplary. They form strong friendships and happily play together. Staff have high expectations and teach children to have good manners and show respect for others, resources and nature.

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

• Leadership and management is very strong. The owner and managers are passionate about their provision and ensure that there is highly effective and meaningful communication with staff. Staff are exceptionally well supported and when issues are identified, for example about workload, they are consistently dealt with appropriately and quickly. There is a high focus on staff's professional development and this results in continued improvement in the teaching of the curriculum. There is a shared ethos to strive for outstanding care and education for all children.
• Staff have an excellent knowledge and understanding of their curriculum. They provide a wealth of experiences and use opportunities as they arise. For example, children greatly benefit from a variety of activities to develop confidence in who they are and to learn about the values of caring, cultures and traditions within their family lives and those of others.
• The nursery has a spacious and well-equipped sensory room, which provides excellent opportunities for children to improve their visual, auditory and tactile processing, as well as fine and gross motor skills. Staff sensitively use massage therapy on children, with rollers and brushes to create a sense of calm and comfort. This helps children learn to self-regulate their behaviours, which ultimately improves focus.
• Staff communicate well to check children's understanding and provide clear explanations to improve learning. For example, very young children are deeply engaged in finding the correct cards to complete a picture of an animal. They point to the cow's udder and tell staff, 'This is where the baby cow gets its milk from'. Staff tell children what it is called and skilfully include children's new learning in later discussions about healthy drink and food choices. This helps children to show that they learn, remember and understand new vocabulary.
• Partnership working with parents and carers is excellent. Staff personally greet them to talk about their child's day. Parents and carers express high praise for the staff's commitment to their role in teaching and caring for their children. They appreciate the work staff do to complete a journal of their child's time at the nursery, which is treasured for years after.
• Support for children with special educational needs is exceptional. Qualified and very experienced staff confidently use speech with gestures, symbols and images to encourage communication and understanding with children. Staff work very closely with other professionals and parents to put highly effective strategies in place.
• Children are highly motivated to learn. Staff provide excellent support to build their confidence, resilience and independence. For example, at snack times, older children confidently handle knives to cut up the fruit or to spread butter on their rice cakes. Children learn how to be responsible for placing their plates and cups away afterwards. This helps them to be well equipped for their next stage in education.