Rising Fives at Smeeth School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children flourish in this outstanding nursery. Staff's vision is for all children to be equipped with the necessary skills to thrive in their future. These include being creative, considerate, confident and curious. All staff demonstrate a real enthusiasm and commitment to caring for children. They quickly build close, nurturing bonds with all children. Staff support children to make excellent peer relationships, and build highly successful social skills. Children talk about their best friends. They ask them what they would like to play next and say 'I'll help you' when they need assistance. Children are well supported to quickly feel safe and happy here, ready to begin exploring and enjoying the many opportunities on offer.

The passionate and highly skilled staff team work tirelessly to provide a rich set of experiences for children. They ensure that activities ignite children's curiosity and support them to build a love of learning. Staff expertly adapt teaching to the individual needs and abilities of each child to ensure they all make excellent progress. Children engage extremely well and remain highly focussed as staff interact alongside them to extend and enhance their learning. For instance, as children enjoy exploring textures and smells while making magic reindeer food, staff help them to think about quantity and weighing. Children's faces light up with excitement and wonder as staff engage them in conversation about Santa and Christmas Eve. Staff also provide many group time activities, such as singing and story time to support children to gain a strong foundation of skills for their future learning.

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

• The ambitious and dedicated staff team plan a highly successful, broad curriculum. They ensure it both motivates children and helps them to make excellent progress. Staff plan well to create opportunities for children to practise new skills and gain confidence and pride in their achievements. For example, children thoroughly enjoy using the new role play area to practise their early writing skills. They enjoy making shopping lists with their friends. Staff support them to draw the dolls and sign their art work.
• Children's speech and language skills are superbly supported by every member of staff. Staff speak extremely clearly, ask children precise and well-considered questions and give them ample time to consider a response. Staff consistently extend children's language, using words such as 'stamp', 'sprinkle' and 'spread' when children create their own Christmas pictures. Younger children giggle as they repeat words such as 'splash', 'swim' and 'dive' when they play in the water tray.
• The manager has developed highly effective systems for assessment. Staff work closely with parents and conduct written termly assessments of children's progress. These procedures support staff to recognise when a child may require additional support and respond immediately. They liaise with parents, devise robust targeted plans and signpost children to appropriate agencies for support.
• Children demonstrate exemplary behaviour. Staff have the highest expectations of children's behaviour. They have established clear strategies to support children to learn about the rules and boundaries. Each year children take part in helping to establish rules that are important to them. Subsequently, they have a great respect and care for each other and the environment.
• The manager goes above and beyond to create enriching experiences for children that widen their understanding of the world around them. Nearby services such as police, firefighters and the Women's Institute are invited in to share their work. Children and families enjoy taking part in creating Christmas boxes to donate to the Samaritans. Staff embrace each child's uniqueness and help them learn about their differences. For example, parents recently spent time in the nursery, to help their children share the holiday of Hanukah. Children show great pride and high levels of self-esteem, talking and singing to their friends about their cultural heritage.
• The manager is wholly invested in improving outcomes for children and supporting his staff to feel valued and empowered. He provides focussed and highly effective professional development for all staff. The manager knows his staff team extremely well and uses their strengths to drive improvement in the nursery. He has a strong culture of supervision and staff meetings in place to regularly reflect on practice and develop teaching further.
• Highly effective partnerships with parents and professionals allow for great consistency in each child's learning and development. Before children start, staff spend time with families. This is used to plan effective learning experiences that meet children's needs and interests. Parents enjoy the welcoming settling in sessions where they enjoy time in the nursery alongside their child. Parents are extremely happy with the care provided for their children. They comment on the great communication and highly approachable staff and say they feel lucky to be a part of this exceptional nursery.