Old Basing Village Nursery School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children flourish in the nursery school. They develop strong, meaningful relationships with staff and demonstrate that they are very happy and exceptionally well cared for. Children are extremely well behaved. They show care and consideration for one another and develop close relationships with their peers. Children benefit from ample opportunities to learn about the differences between themselves and others, and value their uniqueness. For instance, children enjoy celebrating special festivals, such as Diwali and Eid. Older children bring in foods to share and talk confidently about traditional dress, such as saris.

Managers and staff are highly qualified, knowledgeable and experienced. Their passion for providing children with inspirational learning experiences is evident in all that they do. The staff team work seamlessly together to plan an innovative curriculum which excites children's interest to learn. Staff know their children extremely well, and their knowledge of what children like to learn, how they learn best and what they need to learn next is fully embedded. As a result, staff capture a wealth of opportunities to weave learning seamlessly into activities. This helps all children, including those who have special education needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to make the best possible progress in their learning.

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

• The management team and staff work exceptionally well together. Leadership is strong in the setting and staff feel valued and respected. The manager takes responsibility for ensuring the well-being of all her staff. They benefit from regular coaching, support and supervision to support them. Staff are highly reflective. They take ownership of developing their own practice, skills and knowledge, lead by the inspirational management team. For instance, staff have developed their observations and assessments to support them in planning highly effective learning in the moment.
• Staff place a strong focus on supporting children's reading and writing skills, which is evident throughout the nursery school. Children learn to write as part of their daily routines. For instance, when older children want to take a turn making ladybirds, they write their names on the 'waiting board'. Staff talk to older and most-able children about their writing; they capture a wealth of opportunities to help them to recognise letters and the sounds they represent. This helps children to develop a love of writing and to enable them to gain skills that support their future learning exceptionally well.
• The manager and her staff team are highly reflective of their teaching skills and the setting overall. They continually evaluate what is working well and what they strive to improve upon. For example, they have successfully considered how children can develop their physical skills in the garden spaces. Children relish opportunities to take risks in their play, as staff supervise and encourage them. For instance, younger children enjoy learning where to put their feet as they climb the tree to ring the bell. They gain a sense of pride and personal achievement and staff support this readily, by enthusiastically praising them. Children develop exceptional levels of self-esteem and develop a can-do attitude in all aspects of play and learning.
• Children benefit from a wealth of exciting opportunities to learn about the natural world. For instance, children really enjoy taking part in pond-dipping activities and hunt for minibeasts. They are able to remember what they learn as they share this with staff and their friends. For instance, when children draw ladybirds, they excitedly point out different parts of the ladybird's anatomy, including the 'feelers', from activities they recall from the day before.
• Staff plan a challenging and enriching curriculum which incorporates all areas of learning. They swiftly recognise how to adapt what they teach children, tailoring learning exceptionally well. Activities are extremely well organised and exciting, and children are motivated to learn. They concentrate well and keep on learning when activities are more challenging. Staff recognise how to support all children, including those children with SEND, through incisive planning and knowledge of the children's needs. As a result, children make outstanding progress from their starting points.