Rosedene Redhill

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thrive at this exceptional and highly stimulating nursery where they are excited and motivated to learn. Older children eagerly leave their parents at the entrance and babies immediately reach out their arms when they see staff. Children settle quickly into purposeful play, very excited at meeting their friends and eager for their learning to begin.

Ensuring children are immersed in a language-rich environment is at the heart of the curriculum. Staff skilfully support children to acquire a wide vocabulary and to confidently use language throughout their play. Children are self-assured and very happy to express their own ideas and needs. For example, younger children are very confident and articulate as they ask to join existing play.

Staff know what they want individual children to learn and how to build on children's interests to achieve this. For example, to further develop children's problem-solving skills, staff use children's interests in firefighters. As staff motivate children to put out the pretend fires, children discuss and access the resources they need. Children agree the allocation of different responsibilities of who will carry water, hold the buckets and put the fires out. This further develops children's ability to build relationships and demonstrates their uncompromising attitude to achieving their goals.

Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour. They provide positive praise and encouragement. Staff give children gentle reminders about the rules of the nursery when needed. Responding promptly and sensitively to children's needs helps develop nurturing relationships. Encouraging children to understand and express their feelings and to begin to regulate their emotions is embedded in staff practice.

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

• Management and staff have high aspirations for every child to develop a love of learning. Staff have detailed knowledge of every child. They are meticulous in planning a stimulating and innovative curriculum to inspire children to develop the skills they need to learn next. This is reflected in the outstanding range of opportunities offered to children and the exceptional progress children make in their development.
• Staff have high expectations of what children can achieve. They expertly use children's spontaneous interests to develop their understanding of the natural world. For example, children show staff the apple pips they have found. Staff and children talk together about where to plant the pips to grow into an apple tree. Building on children's curiosity enables staff to foster children's knowledge and interest in where their food comes from.
• Staff are exceptionally skilled at fostering children's love of books. They automatically read to children when given a book. Staff encourage babies to look at pictures and describe the pictures babies are pointing at. Older children naturally bring books into their play. For example, they count and compare the number of wheels on pictures of vehicles to the vehicles they are playing with.
• Staff superbly support children to be confident, to make their own choices and develop their ability to assess risks from a very early age. This enables children to acquire confidence in their actions and excellent physical skills. For example, children are enthusiastic in their endeavours to build an obstacle course. Staff use very effective questioning techniques to help children work out for themselves if the ladder is safe to walk across. More reticent children know staff are beside them, to hold their hands and give encouragement.
• Staff are highly attuned to the needs of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They regularly assess children's development. This enables any gaps in children's development to be highlighted and acted upon. Staff work in close partnership with a wide range of other professionals to ensure that children and their families get the specific support they need. Consequently, children with SEND are integrated into the nursery with ease.
• Staff are very skilled practitioners who view snack and lunchtime as a valuable learning opportunity. Children show excellent social skills as they are very content to sit together in their friendship groups. They are relaxed and happy to chat, showing no hurry to leave the table. Children take turns at serving their own food and show excellent manners.
• Partnership with parents is exceptional and a key strength of the nursery. Parents value the online communication and help offered. For example, parents comment that staff go 'above and beyond' to source extra funding which will enable children to attend nursery while parents' work.
• The nursery is a valuable part of the local community. Management and staff organise local walks and regular social groups where families and children can join together in a comfortable and nurturing environment. This helps parents who may feel vulnerable or unsure of meeting new people to build relationships for themselves and their children.