Rocking Horse Nursery Stamford Limited

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff at this family-focused and friendly setting care well for the children. Children show kindness to each other and play well together because the staff model positive behaviour. Staff offer children many opportunities to develop their independence. For example, they encourage children to find their bags and put away their comforters after sleeping. Staff praise their efforts, which helps boost their self-esteem. Children enjoy listening to stories read by staff. They cuddle with their key person and listen intently. Younger children explore the different textures in interactive books, while staff encourage them to turn the pages. Older children use props to retell a familiar story of a hungry caterpillar, taking turns to act out the different parts of the story.

Staff provide valuable outdoor experiences for the children. They help older children develop physical skills as they learn to coordinate their hands and feet on balance bicycles. Children navigate various obstacles and are supported to build core strength as they reach up to make marks using long paintbrushes. Younger children develop hand-eye coordination while playing with different resources in the water tray. They giggle in excitement as they use spoons of different sizes to create the biggest splash.

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

• Staff interact well with children during activities. They model new language and reinforce different words while helping children prepare recipes for a 'new drink' outside. Staff introduced words such as 'lemon' and 'tea' and encouraged children to describe the smell of the tea using the new vocabulary. As a result, children develop strong communication and language skills.
• Overall, staff base the curriculum on children's interests and their next steps in learning. For example, they help older children recognise their names in preparation for school. Staff encourage children to learn phonics. However, this activity is not age-appropriate for most of the children who attend. Consequently, many children struggle to engage and quickly lose interest.
• Staff provide a wide range of books and read to children at different times throughout the day. Children enjoy stories and independently choose books, easily recalling familiar stories. Staff encourage children to act out stories and 'snap' like a crocodile as they recall a book about walking through the jungle. Staff support children in making connections in their learning and help them remember the names of different animals that live in the water. As a result, children build knowledge and retain information about the world around them.
• The staff know the children well and respect each child's individual needs. They ask children for permission before taking them to change their nappy and ensure they maintain the children's privacy during this time. Staff work closely with parents to understand and respond to children's individual routines. However, some staff are unfamiliar with the mealtime routine, which causes mealtimes to become disorganised. As a result, not all children understand what staff expect of them during this time.
• Leaders recognise what the nursery does well and what needs to be improved further. For example, they have prioritised developing the outdoor environment and used funding to enhance this area. Leaders and staff actively support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They collaborate closely with other professionals to ensure children receive timely support. As a result, children with SEND make good progress from their starting points.
• Leaders prioritise staff well-being. The well-established staff team states that it feels supported and appreciates the training it receives. Leaders hold regular supervision sessions with staff to discuss their professional development. For example, experienced staff actively support unqualified staff by role modelling how to help children develop their imagination skills in the outdoor mud kitchen. As a result, staff morale and retention remain high.
• Staff build positive relationships with parents. They work with parents to help support children's development at home, such as with potty training. Parents state they appreciate the information staff share, which helps them understand what their children are learning at the nursery.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• refine the literacy curriculum so that it is age-appropriate and meets the needs of all of the children
• strengthen staff's understanding of mealtime routines and ensure they help children understand what they expect of them.