Poppies Day Nursery Aldershot

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children settle quickly and feel secure in this warm, friendly and caring environment. Children show that they enjoy their time at nursery. For example, they smile, giggle and talk excitedly with staff and other children about their day. Children separate confidently from parents and carers. They form strong bonds with staff, and children snuggle into staff for story time.

Children show positive attitudes to their learning and make good progress. Staff skilfully organise the environment to promote children's natural curiosity and eagerness to learn. Children benefit from a good range of experiences, which prepare them well for their future success. For example, babies have a go at feeding themselves with spoons. Older children develop their physical skills well during outside play. For example, they handle real teapots and make peppermint tea, dig holes skilfully and confidently climb around an obstacle course.

Staff are positive role models and reinforce their expectations of children's behaviour very well. They use a fair and gentle approach. For example, staff talk to children about how to solve disagreements and explain about emotions. As a result, children are well behaved and follow the nursery routine well. Staff recognise children's efforts and offer lots of praise when they succeed. Children respond to this positive reinforcement well. This helps to boost children's confidence and self-esteem.

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

• Staff strive to create a fully inclusive setting. They celebrate diversity with the children. For example, staff read a range of stories, celebrate festivals that are relevant to the children and provide varied resources. Staff work hard to help children celebrate each person's unique qualities through regular discussions while out and about in the community and as they play.
• The support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), and those who speak English as an additional language, is a strength of the nursery. Staff quickly identify children who need additional support. They work effectively with parents and other professionals to put targeted strategies in place, tailored to children's needs and preferences. Staff learn sign language and keywords in children's home languages as they play games and sing songs together. As a result, children feel included and make good progress in their learning and development.
• Younger children develop good communication and language skills. Staff engage in conversation with younger children as they play, introducing new words to increase their vocabulary. For example, staff introduce the words 'around' and 'underneath', as children excitedly try to move wooden beads around wire.
• Occasionally, some staff do not make good use of questions to extend older children's language and communication skills as they play.
• The children have plenty of exciting opportunities to learn about the community in which they live, and take part in local events, such as, the Victoria Day Parade. Children go on trips to local parks, libraries and shops. Children learn how to interact with others and develop their social skills in preparation for school.
• Overall, children's growing independence skills are supported well. Children are encouraged to develop self-help skills. For example, they are shown how to independently wash their hands, drink from glasses and to collect and put on their own coats. However, at times, the organisation of change-over times during the day, such as going out to the garden and tidy-up time, is not organised effectively. This means that children wait for prolonged periods and become distracted and restless.
• The management team evaluates the provision effectively. They carry out supervision sessions with staff and check in on their well-being in regular team meetings. Staff are supported to use resources, such as online training, articles and quizzes to support their ongoing professional development.
• Partnership with parents is effective. Staff build strong relationships with families and children. Parents say that they appreciate the daily verbal feedback about their children's day at the setting, weekly photos and the activities given to them to support children's learning at home.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen staff training so all staff are able to extend older children's learning and thinking skills through well-focused questions
• improve the organisation of the time between activities, to help ensure that children do not have to wait for long periods, to support their learning more consistently.