Pinxton 0 to 5 Nursery School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are warmly welcomed by a friendly, nurturing, and long-established staff team. Children develop trusting relationships with the staff who care for them. They accept hugs and reassurance to help them settle. Children show that they feel safe and secure. Physical development is promoted in the nursery. Babies concentrate for sustained periods when they explore spaghetti. They are curious about this new texture and try to pick it up carefully with their fingers. Toddlers have fun painting the wheels on toy cars. They roll the cars on paper and explore the marks that they have made. In addition, they enjoy cutting the dough as they pretend to make dinner for the staff. These activities help to strengthen the small muscles in their hands in readiness for early mark making.

Children have daily opportunities to spend time in the woodland area. They are supported to learn about self-care by getting dressed in appropriate clothing to keep them warm and dry. Once ready, they head to the woodland and pond area, learning about safety. For example, they know to line up with a partner and carefully look and listen for cars as they cross the car park. Children know to lie down at the edge of the pond. They learn to behave well and show respect for staff, the learning environment, visitors and each other.

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

• Staff take children to a quiet reading area to share stories and engage in singing times. Toddlers enjoy songs and rhymes and eagerly wait their turn to choose a song to sing. They listen attentively to exciting stories as staff read them in an animated way. However, the book area in the toddler room is overcrowded with other resources where children play. This means that children are unable to take themselves to a quiet area to read a story or rest when they choose.
• Children's communication and language development is promoted by staff. Staff consistently introduce new words during discussions, stories and play, ensuring that children hear a wide range of new words. However, staff do not always use questioning effectively to promote children's thinking and reasoning skills.
• The manager demonstrates good self-evaluation and continually reflects with staff on their practice. Staff say the regular peer-on-peer observations give them new ideas and further develop their practice. The manager provides staff support through regular one-to-one meetings, and staff report an awareness of workload and staff well-being.
• The manager invites visitors to the nursery to help provide memorable ways for children to learn. For example, the dentist has visited to help the children develop their understanding of good oral health. This helps children find out about the world around them.
• The on-site nursery chef ensures that children eat a range of good-quality, healthy and nutritious meals and snacks. The chef and staff team are aware of, and meet, children's individual dietary needs. Children ask what they are having for lunch and excitedly declare, 'I love mashed potatoes so much'.
• Transitions are well supported throughout the nursery. Parents share comprehensive information with staff when their child first starts. A thorough settling-in procedure ensures that children settle quickly. Children build secure relationships with their key person. As children move into the maintained nursery school when they turn three, they attend the 'Teddy Bear Club'. They receive a teddy bear to take with them as they visit the provision. This provides reassurance and familiarity for the children to help them settle.
• Staff identify and take effective steps to help close gaps in children's learning. They know the importance of supporting children's additional needs and working with outside professionals when needed. Staff have good partnerships with local agencies. This helps them to work together successfully in support of children and their families. All children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those in receipt of additional funding, make good progress from their individual starting points.
• Partnerships with parents are good. Parents know about what their children are involved in at nursery. Daily communication is promoted, and ongoing discussion between parents and staff helps parents to extend their children's learning at home. Parents comment that the nursery is like an 'extended family'.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance younger children's independent access to books and quieter areas
• build on staff's questioning techniques to promote children's thinking skills and help them express their own ideas.