Parkside View Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thrive in this warm and nurturing nursery, which provides a welcoming 'home from home'. They receive attentive care from their key persons, which helps them to settle and feel secure right from the start. Children move around confidently and make independent choices about their play. They are keen to explore the interesting resources and activities, indoors and outdoors.

Children benefit from a broad curriculum which ignites their interest and supports all areas of their learning. Staff develop children's own fascinations and help them to build on what they know and can do. Children are enthusiastic about the activities provided and enjoy their learning. For example, they display great energy and enjoyment as they role play being firefighters. Children use their imaginations and develop their physical skills as they pretend to put out a fire by spraying water from bottles.

Children respond positively to the staff's high expectations. They follow the nursery's rules and routines, such as helping to tidy up after play. They are kind to each other and develop good friendships with their peers. Children acquire a wide range of skills which provide a firm foundation for starting school. For example, they enjoy being independent and learn to manage their personal care, such as washing their hands and wiping their noses by themselves.

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

• The manager and staff value their partnerships with parents highly. They work hard to embed a shared approach, to support children's health and development. Parents give glowing feedback about the nursery and the caring staff. They say that their children thoroughly enjoy attending and make good progress in their learning.
• The manager works with staff to review the provision and improve the outcomes for children. For instance, staff recognise that some children need more support with their emotional development. Therefore, they have introduced strategies, such as an 'emotions monkey', to help children share their feelings. Children demonstrate a good awareness of a range of emotions. For instance, they draw pictures of various facial expressions and explain how the characters are feeling.
• Staff provide effective support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to help close any gaps in their learning. Consequently, all children, including those with SEND and those who receive additional funding, make good progress from their starting points.
• Staff have regular opportunities for professional development and speak enthusiastically about recent training. The manager observes staff and monitors the quality of teaching. However, she does not ensure that staff's professional development is sharply focused on their individual learning, to further strengthen their good practice.
• The nursery welcomes children from a diverse range of backgrounds. Staff ensure that the resources and activities reflect the children's own experiences and introduce them to other cultures and traditions. This builds children's self-esteem and helps to develop their respect for others.
• Children show positive attitudes to learning and focus well on the activities that they choose. For example, they demonstrate creativity as they make birthday cakes from play dough. Children show attention to detail as they carefully add fresh flowers as decorations. They confidently share their ideas with adults and show pride in their achievements.
• The support for children's language and communication is a strength. Staff talk, read and sing with children throughout the day, to help them develop their speaking and listening skills. Staff also speak a variety of languages and provide excellent support for children who speak English as an additional language. As a result, children become confident and effective communicators.
• Staff interact very positively with children and demonstrate some good teaching skills. For example, during a play dough activity, staff introduce mathematical language, to help children understand quantities and sizes. However, staff do not always encourage children to develop their thinking skills and begin to solve problems independently.
• Children play outdoors each day and enjoy activities such as yoga and sports sessions, to support their physical development. They learn to make healthy food choices and to brush their teeth after meals. This contributes to children's understanding of healthy lifestyles.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen further the systems to monitor and support staff's professional development, to focus more sharply on staff's individual learning requirements
• help staff to provide more consistent support and encouragement for children's critical thinking and problem-solving skills.