Partou Woodlands House Day Nursery & Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Leaders and staff warmly welcome parents, carers and children into this caring and stimulating nursery. Children attend settling-in sessions that meet their emotional and personal needs. Staff support children to learn how to recognise and name their emotions. Children register their name each day under the emotion that they are feeling. This promotes children's understanding of their sense of self and helps staff to know more about the children that they care for. As a result, children feel safe and emotionally secure. They become happy and confident learners.

Leaders and staff provide a stimulating learning environment. They encourage children to be active and develop their physical skills. Staff play alongside children to support them to remain fully engaged in their play. Children climb on large play equipment and use rollers to paint marks on the wall. They enjoy scooping and pouring materials, such as slimy gloop or sand. This supports children to develop their small- and large-muscle skills.

Children take part in forest-school sessions and football classes that are taught by external teachers and coaches. This provides children with opportunities to learn new skills and take part in new and different experiences. Leaders and staff support children to collect donations for a local food bank. They take children to visit older people in a local care home. These experiences support children to learn about helping others in need and building relationships with other generations.

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

• Children develop a sense of independence and responsibility. They confidently pour their own drinks and serve their own portions at mealtimes. Children enjoy being lunchtime helpers. They wear a special hat and apron and help to put out plates and pass the food at mealtimes. Mealtimes are calm and organised well. Children learn how to wait patiently for their turn to collect their food.
• Leaders and staff know some of the development goals that they want children to achieve as they transition through each room of the nursery. However, leaders have not ensured that the development goals for children's communication and language skills are clearly outlined for staff. This does not fully support staff to focus children's learning more sharply to further develop their speaking and listening skills. Additionally, on occasion, staff do not recognise opportunities to further enhance children's knowledge of new vocabulary. Sometimes, staff do not identify times when quieter or less-confident children need further support in their learning.
• Nonetheless, children show a love of songs and stories. For example, toddlers eagerly sit and listen to 'The Gruffalo', repeating key words and phrases from the story. Older babies fill in the missing words to songs as staff sing to them.
• Staff support children in the pre-school room to develop an understanding of rhyme. Children look forward to playing a listening game called 'silly soup' and identifying rhyming objects.
• Leaders and staff promote strong partnerships with parents. They invite parents to attend stay-and-play sessions, charity events and craft fairs at the nursery. This fosters a sense of belonging and community for families. Children take turns to take home a stuffed toy to take on adventures with their family. This helps parents to support children's learning at home.
• Leaders and staff communicate well with other agencies to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They receive specialist advice and training about their role in supporting children with SEND. This ensures that children with SEND continue to receive good levels of support.
• Staff report good levels of well-being and say that they feel supported by leaders. Leaders aim to continually improve the nursery. For instance, they plan to enhance and further develop children's outdoor play spaces to broaden the opportunities for children to learn outside.
• Leaders did not notify Ofsted about an event in relation to the requirement for meeting children's dietary needs. This has been further discussed with leaders, who now understand their responsibility to notify Ofsted of such events. All other aspects of leadership and management are good, and there is no impact on children's safety and welfare.
• Leaders have taken appropriate action to ensure that the requirements for food and drink continue to be met. This includes refresher training for staff to support their understanding of meeting children's dietary needs. Leaders have further discussed with staff their responsibilities in preventing the cross-contamination of food. Leaders continue to monitor the practice of staff. They outline their intentions to further strengthen this monitoring through spot checks and further support for room leaders.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• make clear the speaking and listening skills that staff will support children to learn as they move through each stage of their education
• build on the already good staff practice to strengthen the support for children to learn new vocabulary and further develop their communication skills.