Ramsden Robins Pre Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children happily enter this positive setting and independently find their names to self-register. They settle quickly and are keen to find out what activities are on offer. Older children greet visitors with confidence and excitement. They proudly show visitors the wide range of resources available in the setting. Babies are calm and content. They beam as they see staff smiling down at them when they wake from a sleep. Children have formed positive relationships with staff and relish in any opportunity to interact with them. Children feel happy and safe.

Children are developing positive attitudes to learning. They are curious and enjoy finding out new things. Children sprinkle flour over cardboard cut-out shapes. They gasp in amazement as they reveal the gingerbread man picture they have made. Children watch as the flour falls through the sieve and say, 'It is like snow!' Children are broadening their knowledge of the world around them.

Children are respectful to staff and to each other. They listen carefully and promptly follow instructions. For example, as children get ready to go outside, they enthusiastically help the staff to tidy away the resources. Children are kind and thoughtful to their friends. They notice when other children join their activity and offer to share the resources. On the isolated occasions that children struggle to take turns, staff calmly support them to resolve this. Children are beginning to understand the impact that their behaviour has on others.

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

• The manager carefully designs the curriculum to ensure that it provides children with the knowledge, skills and experiences that they need. For example, the manager recognised the need to prioritise children's speech and language following the impact of COVID-19. She introduced activities and resources that promoted this area of children's development. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make good progress from their starting points.
• Staff encourage children to be independent. They teach children how to put their own coat on and how to pull up the zips. Older children confidently find a tissue and wipe their own noses before putting the tissue in the bin. Babies show great determination as they crawl to select their own resources. Children are becoming increasingly independent.
• Children enjoy looking at books and listening to staff read aloud. They display high levels of concentration as staff talk about what is happening in the story. Children excitedly share their favourite books with visitors and point at the pictures. Children are developing a love of reading.
• Overall, staff promote children's language and communication skills well. Staff model new vocabulary and pose questions that extend children's thinking. However, at times, staff do not ensure that children have enough opportunities to practise speaking by initiating and leading their own conversations.
• Staff teach children about what it means to be healthy. They provide children with a range of nutritious foods and talk about which foods are good for our bodies. Children are encouraged to drink water throughout the day and to rest when they feel tired. Children are developing their understanding of making healthy choices.
• Parents speak highly of the setting. They say that their children settled quickly when they started and enjoy attending. Parents particularly appreciate the help they receive from staff when they need advice or support. This includes working in partnership with other professionals to ensure that children's needs are identified and met. Parents are also given opportunities to come into the setting to play alongside their children. Parents are confident that their children are happy and safe.
• The manager is proactive in seeking out opportunities to work with the local authority and other professionals to further develop the setting. She ensures that staff access professional development opportunities so that the quality of their practice is strengthened over time. Staff morale is high, and their well-being is actively promoted.
• Overall, staff know children well. They build positive relationships with children and their parents. However, there is scope for the role of the key person to be further strengthened so that it is consistently effective in promoting children's progress and development to the highest level.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• further extend children's communication and language skills by giving them more opportunities to practise speaking and to lead their own conversations
• strengthen the role of the key person so that it is consistently effective in promoting children's progress and development to the highest level.