Polkadots

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff greet children and parents warmly, which helps children to feel safe and secure. Children enter the nursery with big smiles, and demonstrate that they thoroughly enjoy themselves there. They behave very well. Staff skilfully support them to understand boundaries and to develop respect for their peers. For instance, staff discuss the nursery rules with children, and encourage them to think about why these are important. Children show that they are starting to understand this, as they willingly share toys and help to clean up after play.

Children are curious and eager to learn. They enjoy activities and are excited to discover new things, such as finding out where worms and insects live in the garden. Children concentrate well and share their ideas with adults. For example, older children draw detailed pictures of their friends and family, and talk about these with their key persons.

Staff have high expectations of all children; they value their opinions and use their interests to extend their learning. For instance, staff recognised that children enjoyed playing with toy cars. They organised a visit to a nearby garage to broaden children's understanding of cars, and how they work.

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

• Leaders have an ambitious vision to provide high-quality care and education to all children. They use additional funding very effectively, to support children's independence and to help close the gaps in their learning. Staff develop personalised, targeted plans for children. This includes specialised small-group sessions each day, to support their social and communication skills. Staff work closely with other professionals, where needed. As a result, all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language, make very good progress.
• Leaders and staff develop strong relationships with children and their families. Parents speak very highly of the nursery. They say that staff are extremely caring and supportive, and help them to extend children's learning at home.
• The curriculum is well planned. Staff have a clear idea of what children need to learn as they progress through the different stages of development. Staff generally plan enjoyable activities that children are keen to take part in. However, they do not always consider the best ways to share books and stories with children. As a result, some children lose interest in the stories on offer and do not stay engaged in their learning.
• Staff support each child sensitively, to become confident and active learners. They encourage children to explore at their own pace, to solve problems and to celebrate their achievements. Staff are skilled at teaching children to recognise and talk about their feelings and emotions. Children are learning to respect one another and value their individuality. They play happily together and develop good friendships.
• The nursery is inviting and there are lots of exciting resources. Children are eager to learn. They confidently talk to adults and make choices about what they want to do. They share ideas with each other as they play imaginative games, such as being firefighters and rescuing animals from a farm.
• Children have access to learn outdoors each day, which supports their health and well-being. They enjoy being active and use a range of apparatus to develop their physical strength and coordination. Specialist teachers deliver weekly dance and yoga sessions. Children proudly demonstrate the new skills they have learned, as they leap and turn in mid-air.
• Staff encourage good hygiene procedures to tackle the spread of infection. Children learn why it is important to wash their hands regularly and to keep the nursery environment clean. They help staff to clean the tables before mealtimes and are proud of being helpful.
• Staff say they feel valued and supported by leaders, and there is a strong team spirit. Leaders provide ongoing training and supervision to improve staff skills and knowledge. Recent training has focused on developing children's communication skills. During small-group activities, staff confidently help children to learn and use new words. However, there is scope to train staff further, to use these skills more consistently during children's play.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review ways that staff share books and stories with children, so as to ensure they are all fully engaged and deepen their learning
• help staff to implement their teaching skills more consistently, to support children's communication skills during their self-led play.