Purple Jay Nursery Lewisham

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enter this nursery excited and eager to start their day. They are warmly greeted by staff asking them how they are and giving them cuddles. Children separate happily from their parents, quickly finding something of interest set out as part of the nursery's ambitious curriculum.

The behaviour of children is good. Toddlers are mindful of younger babies. They pass them toys and ensure they are careful as they move around the room not to bump into them. Older children play cooperatively together. They mix recipes in the mud kitchen to create a pie they can give to their friends. Staff are positive facilitators of play. They recognise when children may need support with taking turns and are quick to provide this.

Staff support children to become independent ready for the next stage of their learning. Babies confidently use spoons to eat their cereal at breakfast. They express their needs, asking for more when finished. When it is garden time, toddlers find their shoes and take them to an adult for help. Older children competently complete self-care tasks, knowing staff are nearby if they encounter difficulty.

The support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities is good. Staff recognise the importance of observing children and making timely referrals where needed.

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

• Staff in the nursery creates an ambitious curriculum for children that promotes their current interests as well as what it is they need to learn next. Children's development is accurately tracked and their next steps regularly updated as they demonstrate new skills. Children are well prepared for the next stage of their learning.
• The curriculum for communication and language is well delivered across all age groups. In the baby room, as children hand staff food items to make a stew, staff clearly name each item. Babies, even those not directly playing, repeat these words as they play. In the older room, children use their growing vocabulary to share ideas, make choices and engage in meaningful conversations with each other.
• Staff are enthusiastic in their engagement with children. They get down to their level and encourage them to explore. Babies laugh as staff support them to build towers with blocks and then crash it down with the dinosaurs. Staff provide children with lots of sensory opportunities. Children squeal with delight as they splash around in the cornflour making the gloop spread around the tray. Older children search for animals in a mud mixture and wash them off, talking about the different habitats animals live in.
• Children understand the routine of the day and what happens now and next. However sometimes, staff can be too rigid in carrying out this routine that they interrupt children's play, rather than waiting for them to finish. For example, all nappies are changed together, regardless of whether children need it at that precise moment. When children return to the activity they were doing before, they no longer have the same level of interest as their focus has been disrupted.
• Staff provide children with an environment that is filled with positivity and encouragement. Children develop high levels of confidence and self-esteem. During a music session, children ask if they can get up and sing their 'Moana' song. They stand at the front holding the music teacher's hands and sing in front of their peers. They shine with pride when they receive a large round of applause at the end.
• Partnership with parents is good. Parents compliment the nursery's settling-in process, that has enabled their children to develop secure bonds with staff. Parents feel well informed of their children's development, with regular updates on the settings app. Parents are supported with developmental milestones, such as potty training, with the nursery providing home resource bags and coffee information mornings.
• Staff at the nursery feel well supported. Managers operate an open-door policy and regularly check in on staff's personal well-being. Staff are supported to access the nursery's learning academy to study for further qualifications and continue their professional development.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• consider how routines can be delivered more flexibly to suit the needs of individual children better.