Play Centre Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

This community nursery prides itself on promoting an inclusive culture for the children who attend and their families. Children are happy, safe and secure. They excitedly enter the nursery for the day ahead. Children build good bonds with the staff team, who are kind and caring. As such, children display a sense of belonging and confidence. They are learning to play and share with others through the effective role modelling of the staff team. Children behave well. They are able to recognise and manage their own emotions and are gaining an understanding of boundaries and expectations.

Children are excited learners and are supported to make their own choices in the resources and toys provided for them. For instance, children become enthralled as they investigate bugs with magnifying glasses, and this helps them to start to learn about the wider world around them. Children are developing the skills they require for their future learning. For instance, they are gaining more independence in their own self-care, such as dressing themselves for outside play. Children know they are valued and respected through the praise and encouragement they receive. This helps them to build a positive attitude and self-esteem towards their learning.

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

• The manager, who is new to her position, has high aspirations for the nursery, the staff team and the children who attend the nursery. She uses self-evaluation well to identify areas for change and improvement. For example, she has reduced the amount of paperwork for staff, which has helped them to spend more quality time with their key children. The manager has ambitious plans to review the outdoor provision, to provide children with new and exciting learning opportunities.
• Children make good and steady progress. The staff team carefully watch their development and plan individual next steps for children's learning. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who receive additional funding are provided with targeted support to help them to succeed to the best of their ability.
• Staff have regular supervision meetings to support their own practice and feel they are part of a strong and evolving team. The manager plans well for professional development opportunities to help staff to continually raise their knowledge and understanding. For example, recent training has helped the leadership team to be more reflective in supporting the well-being of staff and to further explore how the team can encourage and help children's early communication and language skills.
• Parents speak highly of the level of support and dedication staff show towards their roles and responsibilities. They receive regular updates on their child's progress and achievements. However, current systems are not fully effective in sharing information about the next steps planned for their child's learning. This does not help parents to fully support their children to continue learning at home.
• Children have many opportunities to be physically active and have daily access to fresh air. They play outdoors in all weathers, which supports those who prefer to learn in this environment. Children become immersed in their play as they use their increasing coordination to work water pumps. They problem solve as they fill different-sized containers. This helps them to use simple maths in their everyday play.
• Staff place an importance on supporting and encouraging children's communication and language. Children discuss the play dough as they make shapes and recognise smells and sensations as they role and pat the dough. Staff introduce new and challenging words and give children time to answer questions they ask of them. Staff use key words shared by parents in their home language to build on children's confidence for those who speak English as an additional language.
• The staff team have a clear vision of what they would like children to learn. Planned activities and resources are based around children's changing interests and abilities. However, on occasion, staff over-direct children's learning. For example, they provide pre-drawn shapes for them to use, which does not fully promote their own creativity or imagination.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance systems for more-effective sharing of information with parents about next steps planned for their children's learning
• strengthen resources and activities provided for children, to further promote and encourage their own creativity and imagination.