Queen's College Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff greet their key children warmly at the front door at the start of the session. Children arrive happily and they enter the setting confidently with their key person, showing their feelings of security and comfort. Children settle quickly to an activity or game. Staff remind children of the need to take turns, such as to wait to speak until others have finished talking. Children play cooperatively with their friends and share the toys and resources with one another, developing good social skills. For example, older children show and talk about a treasured item from home, while their friends listen politely with genuine interest and ask questions to find out more about it.

Leaders and staff plan a broad curriculum and provide children with a range of experiences. Staff read to children every day, to help develop an early interest in stories. The younger children sit and look at the books independently and settle happily on staff's lap to listen to their favourite stories, requesting more when staff finish reading. Older children practise their coordination and dexterity when using scissors and drawing pictures. Children are keen to take part in group activities and make good progress in their learning.

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

• Leaders monitor the quality of education effectively and identify areas for development appropriately. For example, after reviewing children's progress, they identified that older children would benefit from a focus on mathematics. Staff have responded quickly to this and are leading activities that support the children to count and recognise numbers.
• Leaders and staff are clear about what knowledge and skills they want children to learn at different stages of their education. They use what they know about children to provide activities and support that help children to build on their prior learning. At times, staff do not adapt the level of challenge they provide to the more able children, to extend their learning further.
• Staff work closely with parents and other agencies to seek additional support for children who might benefit from extra help. This helps staff to target children's individual needs effectively.
• Staff model a broad vocabulary for children, particularly while talking about the books they read to children. However, the curriculum for communication and language for younger children does not always support their thinking, speaking and listening skills consistently well. At times, staff ask children questions that require one-word responses and do not engage children in back-and-forth discussion, to encourage them to practise their speech. In addition, when noise levels increase, it becomes difficult for younger children to hear staff talking to them.
• Parents speak about the setting very highly, with particular regard to the strong bonds their children form with their key persons and the staff team. Staff provide regular updates on the children's care and education. They support parents to build on children's emerging skills at home, to promote consistency in their learning.
• Children develop a positive attitude to learning. Staff are playful and enthusiastic in their games with children, which encourages children to copy. For example, older children dance energetically and excitedly, following the lead of staff. Children sing songs spontaneously and grin when staff join in. Younger children develop their balance, coordination and strength when they navigate slopes and steps. They play imaginatively, such as offering adults pretend drinks and taking care of the dolls.
• Staff support children to be independent. Younger children learn to use cutlery at mealtimes and the older children manage their own toileting needs and dress themselves to play outside.
• Leaders listen to and work well with staff and provide targeted support and coaching to benefit the children. For example, when staff request more ideas to help them manage the younger children's behaviour, leaders organise appropriate training. This has increased staff's confidence to help the children who struggle to manage their feelings during periods of change.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to develop the delivery of the curriculum, to provide more challenge for the more able children and extend their learning further
• review and develop the curriculum for communication and language with the younger children, to provide more support for their thinking, speaking and listening skills.