Riverside Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thoroughly enjoy their time at this inviting nursery. They display affectionate bonds with the staff who care for them and quickly settle into their play. Children have a good balance of indoor and outdoor play opportunities. They develop a range of physical skills as they play outside in the nursery garden. Young children learn to move their bodies in different ways. They learn to climb and balance as they make their way along an obstacle course. Children run around and navigate the space safely as they kick a football.

Babies display high levels of emotional well-being. They smile at visitors and eagerly crawl around to explore the stimulating learning environment. Babies benefit from a range of sensory experiences. They investigate the texture of snow that staff bring inside for them to explore and watch as staff enthusiastically demonstrate how to build a snowman. Older children reflect on their past experiences of snow. They express their creativity as they work together to create 'snowmen' indoors from large wooden blocks.

Children behave well. They learn to be kind and respectful to each other. Children learn to solve problems independently. For example, when facing a disagreement over a doll, children listen attentively to staff's explanations. They resolve the minor disagreement and agree to play a group game of hide and seek so they can practise their turn-taking skills.

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

• Staff gather a range of information from parents about children's current routines and interests at home when they start at the setting, so this can be complemented during their time at nursery. The manager makes sure that all children are assigned a member of staff as their key person. However, there are times where a child's key person is unavailable. Although other staff get to know children well, they do not have an in-depth knowledge of children's individual learning needs to support them to make the best progress possible.
• Staff work closely in partnership with parents and other professionals to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Individual support plans are in place to ensure that children's care and learning needs are consistently met. Parent feedback is highly positive. They describe the staff as 'full of love and laughter' and comment that the nursery is 'nothing short of amazing'.
• Children of all ages develop a love of books and stories. Staff frequently read to children throughout the day. Babies show an early awareness of how books work. They hold books correctly as they turn the pages and look at the illustrations. Older children display good listening skills as staff read enthusiastically to them as a group. Staff encourage children to continue reading at home. They have created a book sharing scheme to encourage parents and children to borrow books to read together at home.
• Staff support children's awareness of diversity and the wider world. They carefully plan learning activities around celebrations and festivals, such as Chinese New Year. Children access a range of cultural items, such as chopsticks and traditional porcelain bowls. Staff engage children in meaningful conversations about the items they are using. For example, as children dunk chopsticks in paint and make marks on paper, staff explain that some people eat their meals using chopsticks, instead of a knife and fork.
• Managers and staff recognise the importance of flexibility within the curriculum. They have strategies in place to support children to lead their own learning, and adapt their routines to minimise interruptions to children's play. However, staff do not always organise the transition between play and mealtimes well enough. This means that children sometimes miss opportunities to participate in valuable learning experiences.
• The staff team work well together. Staff state that they are happy in their role and feel well supported by the nursery's owner and manager, who work alongside them on a regular basis. Staff have opportunities to access training to develop their knowledge and skills. The manager monitors staff performance. However, she is yet to use her observations of practice to swiftly identify what further support staff need to raise the quality of teaching to the highest level.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen the key-person system to support staff covering a key person's absence to have a better knowledge and understanding of children's individual learning to support them to make the best possible progress
• review the organisation of the transition between play and mealtimes, to further enhance opportunities for children to participate in valuable learning experiences
• embed procedures for monitoring staff's practice to identify professional development opportunities and raise the quality of teaching to the highest level.