Penny Bridge Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thrive in this imaginative and nurturing learning environment. They form close and trusting relationships with staff, who identify children's unique needs and provide a warm and welcoming place to learn. Children are very active learners and access resources and activities with the highest levels of enthusiasm. They enjoy taking part in daily routines and show genuine pride as they achieve different tasks. Children enthusiastically tidy away resources in the correct storage box and are eager to sweep up, noting that they do not want anyone to fall. Children learn important life skills in this setting.

Staff are excellent role models and have the highest expectations for children's behaviour. They provide constant encouragement and praise to children. As a result, children are excited to explore new things and show high levels of resilience. Staff have high expectations for children's positive behaviour. They support children to understand their emotions and have respect for others. Older children independently help younger children as they remind them to stand on the carpet as it is 'carpet time'. Children exhibit wonderful listening and attention skills.

Children are very independent in their play and enjoy assigning each other roles. Their experiences are enhanced by the staff's responsive teaching. For example, children declare that they would like to play 'fishing'. Staff join in with the role play and introduce new words, such as 'cast' and 'reel'. They model how to use a fishing rod and ask questions that allow children to revisit their prior learning. Children confidently talk about catching salmon, cod and tuna. They are immersed in their learning throughout all aspects of the day and make extremely strong progress in all areas of their learning.

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

• Staff provide an ambitious curriculum that is tailored to meet the individual needs of children. They carefully consider how they can differentiate activities to support children's stages of development. Younger children identify colours as they search for hidden pirate treasure, while older children search for pirate coins to identify numbers. The curriculum is meticulously sequenced to help children build on what they already know and can do. Children are motivated and engrossed in their learning.
• Teaching is purposeful and highly effective. Children enjoy making their snack. When there are eight children but only six drinks and four oranges, staff ask thought-provoking questions about how children can ensure that everyone gets a drink and fruit. This leads to children having thoughtful discussions and solving problems. They discuss what is 'fair', talk about cutting the fruit into halves and identify that they need a jug to pour the juice into so everyone can have a drink.
• This supports children's problem-solving skills and mathematical awareness.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive highly effective support. Staff work very closely with parents and carers to ensure that strategies are tailored and consistent. They are highly focused on ensuring that resources and activities are accessible for all children and support their individual needs. Staff are proactive in forging partnerships with other professionals. They are diligent when spending funding to ensure it has maximum impact for children. As a result, all children make strong progress from their starting points.
• Communication and language is a key focus in the setting. Staff share new vocabulary, ask questions, read stories and take part in role play with children. Children build a rich vocabulary and use words in context. For example, children who are three years old confidently talk about why a narwhal whale has a tusk and how they use it to break through ice in the arctic. Children are confident and competent communicators.
• Staff support children's emotional well-being extremely well and regularly update their knowledge about children's changing needs. They ask how children like to be served their packed lunch and if children like to rest during the day. In addition, staff help children with changes through discussion or borrowing a book from the 'worry library'. This helps children to navigate changes in their life, such as a new baby or when a family pet passes away.
• Parents are extremely complimentary about the setting. Staff undertake regular assessments of children's progress and invite parents to contribute to these. They promote home learning through a lending library and invite parents to regular meetings to discuss how they can provide consistency between home and the setting. Parents say that staff are 'kind, compassionate and caring' and that their children 'thrive and excel in their development'.
• Leaders' knowledge and professionalism are exemplary. They discuss how they endeavour to 'mentor, encourage and nurture'. They place the utmost importance on staff's well-being. Staff receive support through highly focused professional development opportunities, which help them to consistently strengthen their knowledge. Leaders constantly reflect and evaluate on how they can develop all aspects of the setting. As a result, children benefit from high-quality care and an environment that is constantly evolving to meet their needs.