Old Oak Early Years Education Centre

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff offer children a warm welcome, comfort and cuddles when they arrive at nursery. Children easily separate from their parents and carers and are excited to attend. The strong bonds with staff show children feel safe and secure in their environment. Staff spend time talking to parents, to gather any information needed to ensure each child has a happy day at nursery.

Staff know all children well and carefully plan to ensure the curriculum meets the needs of all learners, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Thorough assessment and reporting procedures ensure children are meeting appropriate developmental milestones. Staff work extremely closely with parents, sharing children's achievements and next steps.

Children behave well and clearly understand nursery routines. Children enjoy the positive praise and encouragement that staff offer them throughout the day. Staff remind them of their expectations for lining up, taking turns and sharing.

Children attend well and show excitement for circle times and music sessions. Babies enjoy singing, waving and clapping to the familiar song of 'Open Shut Them.' Older children enjoy joining in with the actions of the 'Wheels on the Bus.' Children have weekly music sessions where they can explore using instruments to accompany their singing. This supports them within the area of expressive arts and design.

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

• Staff remind children of their expectations for behaviour and safety at nursery. For example, the importance of safely using knives to chop fruits for snack time and of the dangers of putting objects in their mouths. Children follow instructions for tidying away their plates after lunchtime and putting leftover food in the bin. Staff model the language of 'please' and 'thank you.' Children respond well repeating modelled language and enjoy the high praise given by staff.
• Children enjoy the sensory opportunities on offer at nursery which support their fine motor development. For example, babies enjoy finger gym in flour and filling small pots with sand. Older children enjoy making play dough birthday cakes, building towers with bricks, and using spades to fill buckets to make sandcastles.
• Parents feel extremely valued and very much part of nursery life. They are invited in regularly to view artwork, attend celebration breakfasts and support bake sales. They are pleased with the noticeable progress their children are making. They feel well supported by staff with ideas of how to help children to learn further at home, particularly within the areas of reading and potty training.
• Most staff support children's language development well. However, this is not consistent across the whole staff team. For example, during the preparation of fruits for snack time, staff do not give children time to respond to their questions or ask questions that would further challenge children to give a more detailed response. Children are not given the additional vocabulary to support them to talk about the fruits they are chopping, to further extend their descriptive language skills.
• The dedicated, enthusiastic manager supports the staff team well. She carries out regular supervision meetings and staff feel supported by her both emotionally and professionally. Staff are provided with training opportunities which she plans to expand upon. The manager works closely with the school's special educational needs coordinator, the school leadership team and external agencies so that all children achieve the best possible outcomes and are ready for their next stages, including starting school.
• Staff ensure that they embrace diversity. Children share foods and dress up to learn about a range of festivals, such as Diwali, Eid and Black History month. The large language board in the entrance hall celebrates the different languages spoken by children. Children have access to dual language texts and parents are invited in to read traditional stories in their own languages alongside English.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• make better use of strategies to challenge children's thinking and further support their language and vocabulary development.