Partou The Village Day Nursery & Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enter happily and are eager to learn. Staff have high aspirations for children and plan an exciting range of learning opportunities. Children show that they feel safe here. This is because staff develop warm, nurturing relationships with them. Children who are new to the setting confidently seek out specific staff for comfort and reassurance. This helps them to settle into their new surroundings. Staff provide many opportunities for children to communicate with each other and develop ideas as they play. For example, children put forward their ideas about the ingredients as they make pumpkin soup.

Children develop a love of reading as they share their favourite stories with staff. They talk about their favourite characters and predict what will happen next in the story. In addition, they borrow books from the setting to read at home with their family.

Children behave very well. This is because staff are positive role models who treat them fairly and with respect. Children show empathy to their friends who are upset, offering them hugs and words of comfort. Children are supportive of one another. For example, they actively encourage their friends to complete difficult tasks. They enthusiastically support their friends as they attempt to walk across the balancing beam. Children cheer in delight when they succeed. Consequently, children develop a positive sense of self and have confidence in their own abilities.

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

• Managers and staff know the children well. They work in partnership with parents and professionals to support children's learning. For example, they have used early years pupil premium funding to purchase play equipment and sensory toys. These resources help children to concentrate and engage in their learning.
• There have been several changes within the staffing and management of the setting in the past year. The new team is coming together well. However, on some occasions, staff do not share best practice across the nursery to accelerate children's learning.
• Children are provided with a fun and stimulating curriculum that actively engages their interests and enables them to make progress. The staff are skilled at introducing new ideas. For example, they explore with the children changes in the seasons and the appropriate outdoor wear for pumpkin picking. This enables children to build on what they know and share their experiences with other children.
• Children develop a secure understanding of early mathematics. Some children are confident to count to five and some beyond. Children recognise a range of shapes and numbers in the environment and the value of numbers. This helps children to develop a positive attitude towards mathematics and problem solving.
• Overall, children develop good communication and language skills. Staff model language well. For example, as the children make 'pumpkin soup', staff use words such as 'stir,' 'seeds' and 'mix'. Additionally, they encourage children to describe the texture of the pumpkin and what spices they can smell. This helps the children to hear new words to describe what they are doing.
• Occasionally, the curriculum is not sufficiently adapted for children with speech and/or language difficulties. This means that they may not make the progress that they are capable of. On some occasions, staff do not make best use of pictorial cards to support children's communication.
• Babies and toddlers enjoy listening to stories and join in with songs, especially 'What's in the Box?' Older children learn that books can be used to gather information. Consequently, children develop an awareness of reading for pleasure and for purpose.
• Babies are provided with the opportunity to practise their crawling and walking. Older children learn to take risks as they climb trees, balance on planks of wood and ride around the 'play road' on their bikes. This helps children to develop confidence in their abilities.
• Staff support children's curiosity and help them to develop a can-do attitude. Children work out how they can safely release a toy that has become stuck in the branches. They develop their hand-eye coordination and hand muscles for pre-writing through activities such as the 'dough gym' and 'funky fingers'.
• Children learn about the world around them. They develop an understanding of where their food has come from, such as the bees making the honey that they are eating. Children are confident to serve themselves and to put their plates on the trolley when they have finished. This helps them to develop the skills they need for the next stage of learning.
• Parents are complimentary about the setting and the support that they and their children receive. They comment that the staff care about their children and that they are fully informed of their child's progress.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to share their good skills and best practice with each other
• implement effective strategies to support children who are non-verbal to communicate.