Pendle Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are warmly welcomed as they arrive at this inclusive nursery. They happily leave their parents and eagerly explore a range of exciting activities. Children work together to scoop sand into buckets. They realise that the sand is not wet enough and go and gather water. Children take appropriate risks in their play. They swing in trees and take part in activities to learn about fire safety. Staff provide a learning environment that is engaging, and children demonstrate high levels of curiosity.

Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour and are calm and consistent in their approach. Babies gently rock teddies and carefully put them to sleep. Older children show great care and concern for living things. As they find snails outside, they carefully transport them to a safer place in the garden. Children are learning to be kind and considerate.

Children enjoy spending time with staff, and relationships are positive. Staff gently rock and sing to babies to settle them. Staff play alongside children with enthusiasm. They encourage children to share experiences from home. For example, children enjoy sharing their holiday photos with staff. Relationships are caring and respectful. This helps children to make good progress in their learning because they feel safe, secure and ready to learn.

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

• Staff gather a range of information about children before they start, supporting children to settle quickly. Staff work closely with local teachers to support children in preparation for school. They work together with agencies to create transition plans to meet the specific needs of children. Children are supported well through their transitions.
• Children explore books from a young age and books are at the heart of many of the activities planned for children. Babies snuggle up with staff and excitedly shout 'giraffe' as they see their favourite animal on the page. Staff read books with enthusiasm. Following staff reading 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears' to the children, staff provide puppets and props and children re-enact Baby Bear's chair being broken. They talk about how he felt 'sad'. These experiences cultivate children's early love of reading.
• Staff support children's communication and language skills well. They engage children in meaningful conversation and expand on what children are saying, to build quality two-way interactions. However, at times in larger activities, children do not benefit as much. For example, on occasions, due to the group sizes, some children lose interest in the discussions that are taking place. At these times, children do not benefit from the intended curriculum.
• The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) has a clear dedication for her role. She takes prompt action to address any identified gaps in children's learning. She liaises well with parents, key people and outside agencies to ensure all children are receiving appropriate support with their development. As a result, children make good progress in their learning from their starting points.
• Parents have the utmost praise for the nursery. They speak highly of the support they have received for the whole family. Staff involve parents fully in their children's care and learning. Parents value the opportunities they have to discuss their children's development. Parents describe the nursery as 'fantastic' and 'welcoming'. They state that they have been 'blown away' with the progress that their children have made since they have started.
• Staff use opportunities throughout the day to support children's independence. At mealtimes, babies wipe their own faces and try hard to put on their own bibs. They show great pride when staff praise them for having a go. Older children competently use cutlery to feed themselves and to spread cheese onto crackers. They help to collect apples, plums and rhubarb from the garden to be enjoyed at mealtimes. Children develop a strong confidence in their abilities.
• Leaders are passionate about making continual improvements within the nursery. Members of the consistent staff team feel extremely supported in their roles and morale is high. Leaders provide access to a wide range of support and training for staff. However, feedback is not always specific enough to help individual staff improve their skills and knowledge further. This leads to some minor weaknesses in practice. For instance, on occasions, some staff do not consistently follow the setting's policies and procedures.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review the organisation of large-group activities so that children consistently benefit from the intended curriculum
• provide staff with more sharply focused professional development opportunities to help them to improve their skills and knowledge even further.