RAFA Kidz RAF Leeming

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy at this warm and friendly nursery. Staff demonstrate that children's safety, welfare and happiness are at the heart of everything they do. Babies and younger children learn together in a dedicated area of the nursery. Staff form close relationships with children, often sharing a cuddle and giggle together. Children are confident to freely access the wide range of resources on offer. Staff know their key children and family circumstances well. They know about children's sleeping and eating patterns and meet their care needs very well.

Children are engaged in carefully planned activities that staff extend throughout the day. For instance, children make marks in paint with hard pine cones and twigs. They then find soft leaves to experience the differing challenges this brings. Staff delight in children's achievements and steps in learning.

Staff ensure that children experience meaningful teaching across the seven areas of learning. The curriculum for communication and language is very effective. Staff build on the sounds and words that children already know. They use hand signs and actions daily in music and movement sessions. Children join in singing heartily with huge smiles. Staff hold attentive conversations with children and give them enough time to think and respond to their questions. This helps to build children's vocabulary, confidence and social skills.

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

• Children behave very well. Staff help each child to develop a good understanding of the behaviour and routines which they expect in the nursery. For example, they give children warning that they need to wash their hands before snack by singing a lively handwashing song. Older children enjoy being helpful. For instance, they help to wash up and dry dishes after snack. This helps children to feel a valued member of the nursery and supports their self-esteem and independence.
• Staff support all children to make good progress. They ensure that children, irrespective of their starting abilities, are fully ready for their next steps in learning and gain the skills they need to be ready for school. Staff carefully adapt the curriculum to ensure that every child can access the high-quality learning opportunities. They demonstrate commitment and dedication when supporting children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Staff promote children's healthy lifestyles, such as through providing well-balanced meals and daily fresh air and exercise. For instance, children enjoy walks around the base to go birdwatching and enjoy a local soft-play activity. However, the provision for children who prefer to learn outdoors is not as high quality as indoors. Opportunities for children to develop their large-muscle skills in the nursery's garden are sometimes limited. Staff do not routinely use the resources they have to help build on children's physical development.
• Staff focus on building children's independence skills. They help children to be proud of their achievements, such as starting to rub in their own sun cream. Children enjoy being able to choose what they play with and casting their vote for the 'book of the week'. At mealtimes, children choose which fruit they want to eat and proudly find their named table mat, cups and bottles.
• Most parents live or work on the Royal Air Force (RAF) base and speak very positively about the nursery and the good progress that their children are making. Staff share ideas with them about how they can support their children's learning at home. Additionally, parents can use the lending library to take home exciting storybooks to help to encourage their child's skills in speaking and storytelling.
• Leadership is strong. Managers are sensitive and respectful in supporting staff's well-being. For example, they value their ideas for improvements. There is a focus on professional development with staff to access training. For instance, managers are supporting several members of staff to gain level 5 qualifications to improve their knowledge and outcomes for children. This is having a positive impact on the quality of education and the continuous improvement of children's learning experiences, in particular for older children.
• Overall, the quality of staff's interactions is good. However, although most staff encourage all children, however young, to think, predict and generate ideas, some staff, occasionally, do not extend children's thinking and developing skills so that they make the best possible progress.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review the outdoor learning environment to ensure that it is conducive to all children's learning, particularly their large-muscle development
• continue to strengthen the monitoring of staff's interactions to identify and address minor inconsistencies in staff's practice to help children to reach their maximum potential.