Orchard Nursery School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children wave goodbye to their parents and carers and skip happily into nursery. They say hello to their friends and settle quickly. Children develop loving relationships with staff, who enthusiastically join in and support children's play. Children understand what is expected of them and respect the rules. They listen to instructions and behave well.

Managers want children to learn life skills and develop independence. Children learn to use knives to cut up their own fruit at snack time. Older children make patterns with fruit, using the new words 'sequence', 'pattern' and 'repeating'. When they finish eating, children carefully pick up their plates, tip leftover food into the bin and place their plates in the sink.

Children are fond of reading. They listen with concentration and fascination when staff read. Younger children pick up books and look at the pictures together. They excitedly recite some of the words from 'Stick Man' as staff read to them. Older children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), listen intently to stories and enjoy asking questions. Staff check that children understand words such as 'magical' and 'curiosity'. Children have a go at explaining what they think the words mean, and staff praise them for their efforts.

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

• Managers have developed a clear, ambitious vision for their curriculum and share this with staff. Staff update their planning regularly to reflect children's changing interests and achievements. Regular observations and six-weekly assessments mean that staff have excellent knowledge of children's development. This supports staff to promote children's next steps in learning.
• Staff plan a wide range of intriguing and stimulating activities, both indoors and outdoors. Activities promote curiosity in children. Children discover an Arctic-themed tray set out with igloos, ice and different Arctic animals. Children ask, 'What's this?' and staff explain that igloos are a type of house. Children continue to explore and ask thoughtful questions as they play.
• The nursery has recently taken part in an accreditation programme focused on children's communication and language development. Managers have shared new tools and ideas with staff. Staff put these into practice to further develop children's language skills. Staff say that children's language and vocabulary have improved enormously because of these changes. Parents comment that they are amazed by some of the new words their children are learning at nursery.
• Children develop an understanding of who they are. They use mirrors to look at their faces. They talk about their features, comparing their differences. The staff promote diversity through a range of different books and resources. However, they do not consistently offer children opportunities to share their own cultures and traditions.
• Staff plan a range of outings and invite visitors to the nursery to broaden children's experiences. They often take children on trips out into the local community, including to nearby shops and cafés. Children learn how to make coffee like baristas and how to shop for food. They enjoy visits from the police, and local farmers bring chicks into the nursery. Children learn about the people who help us.
• Managers are exceptionally passionate. They know their team extremely well and support individual staff sensitively. Staff training is meaningful, and staff proudly share the impact it has on children's development. Staff are often given time out during the day to manage their workload, which helps them maintain a healthy work-life balance. Staff unanimously say that they are very happy and feel extremely well supported by managers.
• Parents are incredibly positive about this nursery. Managers and staff go to extraordinary lengths to support families, especially those experiencing hardship and those who have children with SEND. They raise money to buy gifts for children at Christmas. They offer home visits to provide strategies and ideas for families to try. Managers offer to accompany parents to meetings with professionals, such as paediatricians. Parents say they are very grateful to the team for all the support it provides and feel their children are coming on in leaps and bounds.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• provide a wider range of opportunities for children to learn more about differences and diversity.