Poppies Beaconsfield

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enjoy the fun-filled activities on offer at this welcoming nursery. They form affectionate bonds with staff, who are responsive to their needs and their cues for interaction. Children feel safe and secure as they arrive. They confidently wave goodbye to their parents as they walk in. Children choose from a range of interesting activities on offer. For example, babies have a go at climbing up equipment and testing out their balance. Children learn to play cooperatively with others and invite them into their play. They freely explore the exciting learning spaces, handle natural objects and engage in physical exercise on some raised wooden planks. The well-equipped outdoor area helps to promote children's good health and emotional well-being.

Children really enjoy being outside in the fresh air. They spend time observing and finding out about bugs and insects. For example, they enthusiastically talk about butterflies, caterpillars and tadpoles. Children work together as a group and are enthusiastic about the insects they find. They show great delight when the insects crawl away. Their physical skills are well developed as they run, balance and climb on the outdoor equipment with ease. Younger children excitedly play in the shallow tray of water and point at the ripples as they use their hands to make splashes. Children behave well and are respectful to others. They welcome visitors and happily engage in discussions as they share a book about butterflies. Staff are responsive to children's efforts and constantly praise their achievements. This helps children to feel valued. Children make good progress in their learning and development.

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

• Leaders and staff have worked together to create a curriculum that reflects the setting's wider community and the families and children that attend. However, staff do not always challenge children with special educational needs and/or disabilities enough. For example, on occasion, some children do not fully engage or participate in the hive of activity that is taking place, and instead retreat into isolated play. This affects how well they benefit from the full curriculum.
• Children who speak English as an additional language quickly settle into the nursery. Staff use key words given by parents to help communicate with children. Visual timetables and pictures of resources help children to identify what they like and what is going to happen during the day. As a result, children feel safe and reassured as they are able to predict what comes next.
• Staff are highly engaged and enthusiastic when they interact with children, but, at times, they do not fully capture opportunities to extend individual children's learning. For instance, older children demonstrate the ability to discuss where salt comes from and what foods contain salt. They clearly show that they are able to connect and build on new ideas based on what they already know. However, staff do not always recognise or make the best use of opportunities such as this in order to build further on children's skills and maximise their progress.
• Staff are keen to support children while they explore and experiment with ideas. However, at times, the enthusiastic staff quickly provide solutions to problems or tell children what will happen next, before children have had the opportunity to do this for themselves. This limits time for children to develop their own ideas, theories and thinking skills.
• Leaders fully understand the importance of parents working closely with staff to support children's learning. Parents say that the communication from staff through updates online is 'excellent'. They comment on the progress their children have made in their levels of confidence and social skills.
• Staff are passionate and want to develop their knowledge and skills further. Leaders support them to access training opportunities. They monitor staff's performance through observations and assessment and give them feedback to improve their practice. Staff supervisions are completed regularly. Staff talk confidently about their workload being well managed and feel their well-being is effectively supported.
• Children develop into confident and independent individuals, who can take care of their own personal needs. Older children get themselves ready for lunch by finding their cutlery and place mats. During mealtimes, older children confidently hold interesting conversations with staff and other children. This illustrates that children possess good levels of self-esteem and confidence.
• Children learn about different languages and cultures represented in the wider world. They hear French phrases and songs that build on their emerging language skills. This helps to prepare children for life in modern Britain.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop staff's knowledge and understanding of how to support and provide appropriate challenge for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, to help ensure all children make the best possible progress
• support staff to develop their skills in recognising and making full use of opportunities to extend children's learning further
• extend opportunities for children to think through solutions, solve problems and predict outcomes themselves.