Rothbury Kindergarten

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thrive in this setting because they feel safe and secure. Highly skilled staff develop a deep understanding of each child's needs and establish strong bonds with children and their families. As a result, children say that nursery feels like being at home. In addition, well-trained staff support and plan children's next steps in learning and follow children's emerging interests. Therefore, no learning opportunities are missed. Staff are enthusiastic, which means children are highly motivated and enter the nursery excited and ready to learn. Children are respectful and caring towards each other.

Children are ready to help their friends whenever the need arises. For example, at lunchtime, children support their friends to open their fruit bar. Another child explained that the number he was looking for had a one and a zero so must be the number 10. Parents praise the nursery and feel their children make excellent progress. One parent explained that staff are quick to identify if a child needs support, and, in doing so, her child is now ready to go to school.

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

• The highly qualified manager successfully leads this setting to ensure the best outcomes for all children. The curriculum is well planned and ensures that no child is ever left behind. Where gaps are spotted, she acts swiftly with staff to support each child to catch up, using small, achievable steps. The manager is a highly visible leader who knows every child in this nursery exceptionally well.
• Staff regularly share information that they have gathered on children with their parents and set 'home challenges'. Links with home are excellent and parents talk passionately about the nursery. During national lockdowns due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, parents appreciated the additional contact and support they received from the nursery. Children benefited from activities they received and were able to listen to stories read by the staff.
• Regular staff supervisions ensure that staff receive high-level training, which they appreciate. One member of staff said, 'You can never stop learning where children are concerned.' This ensures all staff have a sound understanding of child development, which ensures they can plan for children's next steps in learning. The staff use their good understanding of children and their interests to plan a rich curriculum. Staff are excited when they see children achieving and making progress. For example, when a member of staff saw a child explore and enjoy sensory play for the first time, she called it a 'wow' moment. She then began to build on this learning by adding herbs to develop additional sensory experiences.
• Children develop excellent communication and language skills. Babies babble and are responded to both verbally and non-verbally. Older children develop language linked to the wider world and have developed an extensive vocabulary, which they use successfully in their play. For instance, a group of children showed an interest in volcanoes. The key worker quickly found an encyclopaedia and enabled the children to find out more. As a result, the children were then able to talk about eruptions and lava flow.
• The all-round health and well-being of each child are supported throughout this setting. Children can wash their hands from a very young age and older children learn the importance of mindfulness and how to eat healthily. Children demonstrated mindfulness techniques, such as the 'shark fin' move. Here, children placed their hands together and gently made a 'sh' sound while moving them over their face.
• By the time the children leave this setting, they are ready to start school and have made rapid progress from the day they entered this nursery. Children are highly motivated due to the exciting opportunities available for them every day. The activities are planned exceptionally well from the children's interests and, therefore, children are eager to learn more.