Regents Park Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are confident and happy as they arrive at the nursery. They are welcomed by caring staff who know them well. New children are supported by a familiar adult. This helps them to feel safe and secure.

Children enthusiastically take part in activities led by staff. For example, they enjoy creating imaginary food using play dough. Children are equally engaged in creating their own experiences. They use their imagination and work together. Children line up construction vehicles, seeing how one can push the other along. They take turns to push the vehicles and delight as these move along in a row. Children demonstrate problem-solving and curiosity in their play.

Children learn independence skills from an early age. For instance, they are skilled at using the 'scrap', 'soak' and 'stack' stations, where they clear their plates and wash cutlery after mealtimes. Staff create a respectful and positive environment through calm and caring interactions. Children demonstrate a strong sense of belonging and are learning skills to develop strong relationships. For example, 'kindness' cat helps children develop an understanding of how to be a good friend and why sharing is important. This helps them to behave well.

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

• The manager and her staff are passionate about delivering a quality curriculum that meets children's individual needs. They have a clear vision of what they want all children to learn. Staff receive support, training and coaching to enhance their skills and knowledge.
• The special educational needs coordinator swiftly identifies any delays in children's development. They work very effectively with staff, other professionals and parents to provide children with the support they need, to close gaps in learning. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language, make good progress from their starting points.
• Staff prioritise the development of children's communication and language skills. They share stories, sing songs and model new words. Toddlers repeat the words 'delicious' and 'hold it' while they play. Staff use vocabulary from children's home languages to help children who speak English as an additional language gain a good grasp of English.
• Children have many rich and varied activities to choose from. Overall, staff plan activities well to meet the needs of the children. Children show a 'can-do' attitude and persevere with challenges. For example, they enjoy creating winter pictures. Children use different materials, such as buttons and string, to create snowmen. They use scissors and glue to cut and stick. Staff help them to stay focused by using lots of praise and some effective questions. However, some staff do not always pause after asking these questions, so children do not always have time to think and respond.
• Children are given many opportunities to develop their mathematical understanding. For example, when comparing the size of containers during water play, they talk about the containers being 'full' or 'empty'. When building a tower, children describe how they use the square blocks to make the tower go 'even higher'. Older children confidently count to 10.
• The organisation of the outdoor area is well laid out and supports children to develop their physical skills. Opportunities and resources are plentiful, and children freely run, play with their friends, ride bicycles, learn about road safety and use the slide.
• Healthy practices are supported throughout the nursery. Children enjoy home-made and nutritious meals. They learn about the importance of good oral health.
• Parents praise the nursery and describe it as a 'community'. Parents have effective relationships with staff and feel that the nursery offers a supportive environment for children and their families. Staff have started to provide parents with more information about their child's development. However, the manager recognises that this is not yet fully embedded. This results in not all parents being aware of how they can support their children's next steps in development at home.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to give children sufficient time to answer questions, so they can share their thinking and ideas
• work even more closely in partnership with parents to ensure they are kept informed of and involved in their children's learning at home.