NurtureVille Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and settled at the nursery. They are confident on arrival and flock around staff, eager to include them in their play. Children show that they feel safe and demonstrate affectionate bonds with staff. For instance, babies and toddlers seek reassuring cuddles from key persons. Older children are confident to ask when they need help. Children enjoy their time together and develop good friendships. They are helpful and willingly assist with tasks. For instance, children cooperate to sweep up sand from the floor and to prepare the 'mud kitchen' for outdoor play. Children develop good independence and begin to manage their own personal hygiene and care.

The manager and staff want the best for all children. They provide attentive care and focused learning opportunities to support all areas of their development. Children make good progress and are enthusiastic about learning. For example, older children are keen to practise their early writing skills. They are proud to demonstrate that they can recognise and write some of the letters in their names. Children enjoy regular outings, such as to the local library, shops and park. This helps them to learn about their community and the people who help us. They also acquire useful skills and information, such as how to pay for items in a supermarket and use public transport safely.

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

• The manager, who also owns the nursery, has worked hard to address weaknesses identified at the last inspection. She has improved supervision and training for staff so that there is a sharp focus on raising the quality of interactions and teaching. This has had a positive effect on staff's skills and on children's learning and well-being.
• Staff have a clear understanding of what they want children to learn. They monitor children's progress and have clear aims for their learning at each stage of development. Staff identify where children need extra help to reach their full potential. They work in partnership with parents and seek advice from other professionals to develop supportive strategies. For example, staff use pictures and objects to help children understand routines and make choices. Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make good progress from their starting points.
• Children are enthusiastic learners. They develop a genuine love of books and build strong foundations for reading. Children look at books independently and thoroughly enjoy story times with staff. They are keen to learn new words and information from books. For instance, children are enthralled by a story about winter and recall that hungry deer must search for food beneath the snow.
• Staff use a wide range of strategies to promote children's communication skills.
• For example, they read, sing and converse with children throughout the day. An 'Early Talk Boost' project provides useful tips for parents to support children's language at home. This helps children, including those who speak English as an additional language, make good progress with their speech. Staff have also introduced daily 'focused activities', to further enhance children's communication skills. Children enjoy these opportunities to engage with staff. However, activities are not always well organised to successfully target the children who most need support.
• Children play happily together and are kind and respectful to others. Staff use lots of positive praise and reminders, saying, 'good listening'. However, occasionally, during group activities, staff do not clearly explain what will happen and how they expect children to behave. Consequently, some children are not sure what to do, and their learning is reduced.
• There is a good focus on healthy lifestyles. Staff ensure that children are active throughout the day. This includes daily exercise in the garden and visits to the park. The nursery provides healthy meals, and staff teach children about the benefits of eating well. The curriculum includes activities to promote good oral hygiene for children.
• There are effective partnerships with parents. Parents praise the kind and friendly staff, who always welcome children with a smile. They say that their children are well settled and enjoy attending. Parents comment that staff keep them well informed about their children's progress and give them ideas to help continue their learning at home.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review and improve the delivery of some group activities, to ensure that children who need additional support benefit as much as possible from these experiences
• support staff to provide clear and consistent guidance for children, to help them understand expectations for behaviour, especially during group activities.