Purple Willows Brentwood

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children show high levels of happiness and joy at this bright and welcoming nursery. Staff are cheerful and friendly, showering children with warm and nurturing care. Children settle quickly in their work and play. They explore their interests with adults who are fully attuned to their personalities and curiosities. Staff support children to make independent choices about their play and learning. Children explore their environments with great positivity and interest.

Children behave well. They listen to adults and show high levels of respect for their peers and adults. Staff support children to develop an awareness of right and wrong through a consistent approach to expected behaviours. Staff act as positive role models. They drink water with children and encourage them to drink theirs too. Children are developing a positive attitude to their learning. They are developing empathy and developing secure friendships.

Staff offer encouragement to children during activities. Children help each other with tasks when they struggle, such as when they try to use sticky tape to make rain shakers. Staff offer praise when children achieve tasks, such as when they manage to fill a paper bag with rice. As a result, children are developing perseverance as they keep on trying.

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

• Leaders have constructed a curriculum that supports children to develop the essential skills needed for the future. Staff understand the curriculum and provide enjoyable and engaging learning experiences for children that ignite curiosity and wonder.
• Staff show a strong approach to developing children's communication and language. From a young age, children are exposed to rich language experiences, including new and interesting words such as sprinkle and crunchy. Children who speak English as an additional language are supported to develop their use of spoken language as well as their understanding. Across the nursery, children are becoming highly confident and capable communicators, using language in a variety of ways to express themselves.
• Staff encourage children to be independent. They support them to wash their hands and serve their own food. Children are developing skills such as putting on their coats and wiping their noses. Children engage in practical life skills such as sweeping up and wiping spills.
• Children show strong exploratory instincts. They are curious about their environment, seeking ways to use, manipulate and handle objects. Babies explore their senses as they crawl in sand and scoop coloured rice. Older children make spiders from dough. They describe the ingredients they used to make the dough and count the number of legs on their spiders.
• Staff support children to develop personal hygiene. They show respect for children by asking if they can wipe noses and change nappies. Interactions during intimate hygiene are warm and responsive. This helps children to develop a sense of trust and emotional security.
• Parents are very happy with the care and education children receive. They feel well informed about what children are learning and the progress they make. Parents feel that children are settled and secure because of the friendly and professional staff.
• Children learn about the wider world. They explore topics such as people who help, and they learn about the weather. However, leaders have not developed the curriculum to provide children with opportunities to explore the local community and learn about their place within it.
• Leaders use assessment effectively to identify the progress children make. Staff who support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities show passion and dedication in helping them to make the progress they are capable of. The effective partnership working with parents and other professionals further supports children. As a result, any gaps in children's learning are closing.
• Leaders are inspirational. They have a shared vision for delivering high-quality care and education. Staff access regular supervision where they discuss observations of practice and relevant professional development that supports their practice. This translates into improvements in the quality of teaching and the progress children make.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• guide staff to build on children's knowledge and understanding of the natural world
• develop the curriculum to broaden children's experience of their local community, their awareness of the people who live and work there and how children contribute to the community.