Nutkins Nursery 2

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happily at this welcoming nursery and quickly engage in their chosen activities. They benefit from secure relationships with staff, who know them well. Children demonstrate by their behaviour that they feel safe and secure. New children soon settle in. They learn routines and are confident to choose what they wish to play with. Children turn to staff for help or reassurance, and involve them in their games. Children behave well. For example, during picture-matching games, children wait patiently for a turn. Older children help their younger peers to find the right pictures, and no one minds who completes their game first.

Staff want all children to achieve as much as possible. They teach them useful skills and knowledge in readiness for school. Children become independent in meeting their personal care needs. They learn to wash their hands at appropriate times, use tissues to wipe their noses, and put on their coats by themselves. Children enjoy their learning. They explore the many resources and activities with curiosity and enthusiasm. Older children demonstrate perseverance as they learn to use scissors effectively and with greater control. Younger children try out their ideas as they create 'sandcastles' using soil and cups. Staff provide lots of encouragement and praise, which supports children to keep trying and to focus for longer periods of time.

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

• The manager has a clear vision for the nursery. The learning programmes are well planned to give children a broad range of learning experiences. Children enjoy opportunities to play outdoors and do much of their learning in the nursery garden. This includes plenty of vigorous play, such as climbing and balancing, which effectively promotes children's physical health and well-being.
• Parents say that staff are warm and caring towards children. They have noticed improvements in their children's speech, and comment on their progress in mathematics and literacy. The manager worked hard to stay in touch with families when children could not attend during the COVID-19 pandemic. She regularly checked on children's welfare and shared ideas to support their learning at home.
• Staff assess children's development and swiftly identify when children need extra help with their learning. They work effectively with parents and other professionals, when needed, to draw up individual plans for children. This includes specialised activities to support children's speaking, listening and attention skills. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, children who receive extra funding and those who speak English as an additional language, make good progress from their starting points.
• Staff plan effectively for children and demonstrate effective teaching methods. For instance, they use questions to develop children's thinking skills and encourage them to use new words. However, at times, the environment is too noisy or group activities are disorganised. As a result, children do not increase their knowledge and abilities as rapidly as possible.
• The environment and staff support children effectively to make independent choices and become confident learners. Children are imaginative and express themselves creatively in lots of ways. For instance, older children created a pretend ice-cream shop to explore their ideas around being a shopkeeper, ice-cream maker or customer. They adapted natural materials that they had found in the garden to represent the ice creams and money. Younger children listen to songs with pleasure and move their bodies in response to the rhythms and sounds.
• Children learn to recognise and respond to their own physical needs, such as if they need to wipe their nose, or when they want a drink of water. They start to understand the importance of eating healthily and share their ideas about this during conversations with staff. For instance, younger children talk about the fruits they enjoy most at snack times. Older children proudly describe the healthy options they have in their packed lunches. They explain how these help them to grow bigger and stronger.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• check the effectiveness of actions taken to improve children's communication and attention skills.