Pillar Box Gardens Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children happily arrive at the nursery. They are warmly greeted by a familiar staff member. They settle quickly and confidently begin to explore the exciting activities on offer. Staff have high expectations for children's achievements. They are skilled at reintroducing familiar activities to them throughout the day. This helps children to remain motivated and extends their learning. For example, children remember to practise controlling their movements while creating patterns on the outside chalk board.

Children's emotional needs are very well supported by staff. Children enjoy a cuddle and some reassurance when they are upset. They happily sit together on the carpet and enjoy singing songs and listening to stories. Staff encourage children to behave well through gentle reminders of expected behaviour. Children understand how to manage their own feelings and impulses, developing friendships as they learn to respect one another. Staff value each child's uniqueness. They encourage them to be curious and experiment in their play. Children confidently choose activities they are interested in. They show good concentration and persevere when a task is challenging. Older children acquire knowledge over time. For example, young children enthusiastically predict the words of a favourite story before the words are read aloud.

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

• Settling-in procedures are effective. Staff gather information from parents about children's interests when they start at the nursery. They use this information, and their own observations, to plan activities that build on children's prior knowledge and skills. Even children who are new to the setting enthusiastically engage in group activities. They listen attentively to the stories and learn to pay attention to and repeat the actions in popular songs.
• Staff understand what they want children to learn. They follow children's interests and support them in a way that is appropriate to their level of development. Planning and assessment take account of children's individual learning and development needs. Most children are making good progress.
• Staff understand the importance of encouraging young children to repeat activities over time. They know that this practise improves young children's understanding and develops their skills. Learning across the nursery is well planned, helping children to make connections and extend their knowledge and skills.
• Personal, social and emotional development is a key focus across the nursery. The key-person system is well embedded, ensuring children quickly become emotionally secure and confident.
• Communication and language development is a high priority. Staff encourage children to develop their communication skills by talking to them, emphasising key words, and describing what they are doing. However, they do not always use the correct words when describing objects. This can hinder language learning, particularly for children who speak English as an additional language.
• The manager has a strong vision. She is ambitious for the nursery and is clear about how to improve it. The system for staff supervision and performance monitoring supports staff in their professional development. Regular supervision meetings with the manager help staff to reflect on their own practice. They work with the manager to identify training needs to continue to develop their knowledge and skills.
• Partnerships with parents are good. Parents report they are very happy with the provision and their children's experiences at the nursery. They observe how confident and independent their children have become. Communication with parents is regular and informs them of their child's progress at nursery. Parents were updated regularly on the changes to provision and health and safety issues during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Staff support children to be healthy and to understand the importance of eating healthy food. Children try new foods and are beginning to learn the importance of eating fruit and vegetables. The menu is nutritious and is adapted to take account of children's individual dietary needs. Older children practise their dexterity while learning to peel satsumas and bananas under close supervision. They enjoy their healthy snack in a relaxed and social environment.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• ensure that staff's use of spoken English is consistent and accurate to support children's English language acquisition, specifically when supporting children who speak English as an additional language.