Parson's Green Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The manager and staff provide an incredibly welcoming family focussed setting where children are at the centre of everything they do. Children are confident and independently explore the environment making choices in their play. They have a fantastic attitude towards learning and delight in exploring the enriching range of experiences on offer. Staff support children in building positive relationships with others. Effective transition and key-person processes ensure that all children are settled and enjoy their time at nursery. Staff really get to know the children and go the extra mile to ensure children feel safe and secure. For instance, babies' take home key person boxes full of photographs and resources to explore with their parents. Staff are incredible role models for positive behaviour. From an early age they encourage children to learn about their emotions and how to regulate them. In the younger rooms, staff provide sand timers to support sharing and turn taking. In the older rooms, children have access to calm areas and learn strategies to help them be calm and regulate themselves. As a result children are really well behaved and learn to manage conflict themselves.

Staff plan a variety of exciting and interesting activities that children delight in exploring. Babies' enjoy the sensory experience from exploring different textures with their hands and feet such as jelly, and laugh and giggle as they feel the texture between their toes. Children in other rooms are fascinated by the insects they have caught. Staff skilfully extend their learning by introducing dough for children to explore and develop their physical development to support their early mark making skills. Children make their own insects and staff extend it even further as they introduce number and shape language.

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

• Staff are excellent role models for communication. In the younger rooms, staff talk clearly and slowly, describing what children are doing and what they can see. As children get older, staff introduce new words through activities to support and extend children's learning. For instance, children are learning about the abyss and the different layers of the sea, children learn about the different areas and the names of the animals they may see. Children confidently ask questions about what they can see and demonstrate they understand as they recall facts they have previously learnt.
• The manager and staff closely monitor children's development and quickly address any gaps. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are incredibly well supported. Staff work closely with parents and other professionals to meet children's individual needs and as a result all children make excellent progress.
• Staff build excellent relationships with parents and keep them up to date and involved in their child's learning. For instance, parents have access to an online application and can see photographs and regular updates on their child. Staff also share with parents ideas to support learning at home such as weekly challenges, homework for the older children and home learning bags.
• The inspiring manager is incredibly reflective and takes into account the views of staff, children and parents. For example, parents complete regular feedback forms and are encouraged to take part in the question of the term. Older children also form a committee and share their ideas about what they would like for the nursery. The manager and staff work closely creating action plans and targets for each room and work together to improve the outcomes for children
• Staff effectively support children with English as an additional language. They collect words from parents to support children in the setting and in older rooms, children record words in their home language to listen to and share with their friends. They confidently talk about the languages they can speak and the different countries in the world.
• Staff have an excellent understanding of their curriculum and how children learn. They confidently describe why they are doing different activities and what they want children to learn.
• Staff support children in learning about healthy lifestyles incredibly well. Children learn about the different types of food and the effects of it on their bodies. All children explore real food in their role play areas and when children are enjoying their lunch, staff show them the whole vegetables that they are eating which sparks children's curiosity and their eagerness to learn.
• Staff are incredibly well supported and the manager values staffs well-being. Staff are recognised and are given regular awards to celebrate their achievements. They also attend regular supervisions, meetings and training sessions. The most recent was the sequence of learning training which has had a positive impact of staffs understanding of how children learn and how they can support them.