Portland House

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children look forward to attending this stimulating, exciting and safe nursery. They receive a broad range of carefully planned experiences that consistently build on what they already know and can do. As a result, children become deeply absorbed in their play and they behave extremely well. This helps them to become motivated and develop very positive attitudes to learning. Consequently, children make excellent progress.

Children learn how to explore and solve problems in the well-resourced outdoor area. For example, children find out how to use a water pump. They learn that water can be recycled, and they reuse water to refill the pump so that it is ready to play with again. Staff talk to children about other things that can be recycled, such as rubbish and food waste. This supports children to make links to what they already know. Children hold detailed and engaging conversations with staff, which strengthens their understanding of new ideas and concepts.

The ways in which children develop their independence skills are well thought out. For example, babies learn to use cutlery and feed themselves at mealtimes. Toddlers progress to pouring their own drinks. Pre-school children serve themselves and help to clear away the tables when they have finished their meals. Children learn how to dress and undress themselves when they change into waterproof clothing to play outdoors. This supports children to be assured in their own abilities and to take responsibility for their own care needs.

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

• Staff are highly skilled in the ways in which they support children's communication skills. For example, babies learn to use simple sign language alongside spoken words. This helps them to be able to communicate their wants and needs as they learn to speak. Staff talk to children using simple sentences. They repeat key words to children to support their understanding. Children receive many opportunities to hear books and stories. This further widens their knowledge of new words. As a result, children become confident and capable speakers.
• Children play extremely well together. For example, they work as a team to fill containers in the mud kitchen. They thoroughly enjoy playing imaginary games together. Staff support children to know what is happening next. This prepares children for times of change and helps them to make the right choices in their behaviour. During the rare times that children need help to manage their feelings, staff use their knowledge of the individual child to take the right actions to support them. Consequently, children's behaviour is exemplary.
• Children take part in a range of enriching experiences. For example, they benefit from regular visits to the 'science kitchen', where they learn to bake and cook. Children learn how to prepare food and stay safe when using the oven. They learn how to speak French with a specialist language teacher. Children find out about how to grow fruits and vegetables in the garden, which are then used to make snacks and meals to eat in the nursery. These varied and interesting experiences support children to learn more about the world in which they live.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive high levels of support. Leaders use additional funding to provide children with access to special resources or dedicated one-to-one time with adults. This ensures that children meet the 'ambitions for learning' set by staff. Consequently, children with SEND make outstanding progress.
• Parents and carers praise the dedicated and caring nursery staff. They describe how staff have helped their children to flourish and make the best possible progress. Parents are highly confident in leaders' abilities to make sure that the individual needs of their children are met. The nursery uses an online app to share detailed information with parents about their children's development. This supports parents to continue their children's learning at home.
• Leaders are highly committed to working closely with staff. They seek staff's views on their interests and personal development needs. This supports leaders to provide a carefully considered training programme that is tailored to meet the needs of children and staff. This, in turn, ensures that staff's skills and knowledge continue to improve to higher levels.
• Leaders continually review the nursery's ambitious curriculum, and they have plans to enhance and improve it further. This helps to ensure that all children continue to make exceptional progress.