Ramillies Hall Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children settle quickly and develop loving bonds with the staff at this caring nursery. They demonstrate positive attitudes to learning as they experience things for the first time. For example, older children embrace the chance to use twigs and leaves to make marks with paints outside. Babies gasp with excitement as they anticipate what will be revealed when they play 'what's in the box?'. Children of all ages are developing a love of learning.

Communication and language are at the heart of this nursery. Children benefit from frequently hearing a wide range of songs and rhymes being sung. They join in with actions and learn to sing the words from memory. Babies who are not yet talking beam as they babble to the tune of 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star'. Older babies enjoy the back-and-forth conversations they have with staff. They confidently use single words and hand gestures to communicate, which the staff respond to positively. Children's language is developing well.

Children are well prepared for the next stage in their learning and development. They concentrate for long periods as the staff lead activities. Children benefit from accessing a range of experiences that support them to learn the knowledge and skills they will need when they start school. For example, they learn to distinguish between the many different sounds that they hear as they play outside, and they use mathematical language confidently in their play. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), make good progress from their starting points.

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

• Staff read stories to children and encourage them to explore books independently from a young age. Babies and toddlers crawl into a cosy reading den and enthusiastically describe what they can see as they carefully turn the pages of the books they have chosen. Older children confidently recall stories they have read and giggle as they describe the ones that were the funniest. Staff are supporting children's early reading skills.
• Leaders recognise the importance of children learning how to lead healthy, active lifestyles. They have recently developed the outdoor area to include more challenging climbing equipment and larger resources for building and balancing. They teach children to make healthy food choices. This supports children to develop their physical skills and contributes to their understanding of healthy lifestyle choices.
• Parent partnerships are a strength of this nursery. Parents speak highly of the staff and feel that their children's needs are met. Effective daily communication with parents contributes to their understanding of how to support their children's learning at home. Parents appreciate the advice and support that they receive from staff. They describe the team as being 'professional, transparent and kind'.
• Children with SEND are extremely well supported by the knowledgeable staff. Staff work closely with other professionals to ensure that children's needs are identified and that they are given targeted support that helps them make optimum progress. Staff use resources effectively to help children to communicate and to build on what they know and can do. For example, children use pictures to support them to follow the daily routines. Children with SEND thrive in all aspects of their development.
• Staff know children well and plan activities that aim to ignite their interests. However, staff are not always confident in knowing how to respond to children's ideas and extend their thinking. At times, activities are not open-ended enough and staff's interactions with children do not consistently support their curiosity or build on what they know and can do.
• The managers are reflective and committed to providing high-quality teaching and learning. They seek advice from the local authority and act swiftly to address any identified areas for development. However, not all leaders are confident to cascade their knowledge and skills to improve teaching to the highest level.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• improve the quality of interactions with children so that they consistently build on what they know and can do
• strengthen leaders' use of coaching and mentoring to improve the quality of teaching to the highest level.