Precious Ones Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and settle well at the nursery. They are busy throughout the day and staff are very attentive. Children make good progress. They gain a wide range of useful skills and knowledge that prepare them well for their future learning, and school. Babies show their delight as they bang and shake musical instruments. Toddlers gain good control of their small-muscle skills as they use spoons to fill different sized pots with sand. As children do this, staff make good use of words, such as 'small' and 'big', and count how many spoonsful they use. Older children delight in playing with the play dough. They use their imaginations well as they pretend to flip pancakes and make cupcakes that they say are strawberry and chocolate flavour.

Children develop their confidence. They form secure attachments with key persons and other members of staff. Children seek out adults for comfort and reassurance when needed. There is a lovely calm atmosphere in the nursery. Children behave well and have kind regard for their friends. Older children show that they can follow instructions. Staff encourage good manners and praise children for their efforts.

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

• Members of the management team have a clear vision for the nursery. They demonstrate a reflective approach and are able to identify clear intentions for the future. They monitor staff's ongoing suitability. For example, they observe staff while they work with children. This helps them to identify any weaknesses in practice that need to be addressed.
• Management and staff create a sequenced curriculum that incorporates children's emerging interests. They know the children they care for well and observe and assess their progress. Staff use their knowledge of child development to offer a wide range of interesting learning opportunities.
• Children have a good range of experiences to support their literacy skills. For example, their love of books is enhanced at story time. Staff read expressively and encourage children to join in. Children learn to handle books with care. They copy staff as they pretend to read a book to others and ask them questions about what is happening. Children practise making marks in a wide variety of ways. This helps them to learn pencil control for future writing.
• Staff support children's communication and language skills well. They speak clearly and repeat what the children say, so that children hear the correct pronunciation. Staff are very conscious that they need to teach children new words to extend their vocabulary. For example, when children run cars up and down a ramp outside, staff use words such as 'fast', 'slow', 'bumpy' and 'smooth'.
• Children learn about their local community. They have frequent outings, such as visits the shops to buy food, and the library where they borrow books. They can also swap seeds at the library to grow at nursery. Children learn about different festivals. For instance, they visit the Temple next door and the local church, where they listen to stories.
• Partnerships with parents are good. Staff involve parents in children's learning and feed back to them each day, which helps parents to continue children's learning at home. Parents are very enthusiastic in their comments about the staff and nursery. They know that they can share any concerns with staff.
• Children are supported to develop healthy lifestyles. Their interest in caterpillars has led to staff reading them an associated story about the foods the caterpillar ate. This has led to lots of discussions about different foods and what is good and bad for you. Children are provided with healthy meals in the nursery. However, they are currently not encouraged to serve themselves at lunchtime to help them make their own choices.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to develop their knowledge and understanding of wider safeguarding issues, such as domestic violence and witchcraft
• support children in making their own choices at lunchtime to maximise their developing independence.