Roundstone Nursery School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are confident and keen to learn. They separate happily from their parents and carers, showing how secure they feel at the nursery. They quickly decide what they want to do, choosing from a varied range of resources which staff provide to support their learning. For example, there is a well-resourced 'creation station' outdoors where children can choose freely from a wide range of arts and crafts materials to express themselves. Children engage fully in enjoyable activities, such as making mud pies, and interact well with the attentive staff. They are well behaved and willingly follow instructions. They understand routines, such as washing their hands on arrival.

Staff have high expectations for all children, including those who need additional help. They provide tailored support to help them make good progress from their individual starting points. Staff offer praise and encouragement to help children become active learners and support children's learning effectively. For example, they talk to them about what they are doing and ask questions to help them think.

The nursery remained open for the children of key workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Staff offered regular online lessons for those children who were not attending and kept in touch with parents to check on the welfare of families and children.

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

• Staff know children well. They work with parents to find out about each child and make ongoing observations of children's progress. This enables them to identify what children need to do next and plan how to support them in this. Staff provide a varied range of learning opportunities and extend what children are doing to help them make good progress. Leaders have a clear understanding of the curriculum. However, staff's understanding of the curriculum is not as strong, which limits their ability to offer further support for children's progress.
• Children who need additional help are supported particularly well. Staff work in highly effective partnerships with other agencies to ensure that children get the support they need to make good progress. They use a variety of methods, including visual aids, to support children who have delayed communication skills or do not speak. Children who do not speak English at home are also well supported. Staff give them opportunities to speak their home language in the nursery, which supports their communication skills and they learn English rapidly. This is a two-way process as children help staff to learn words in their home language.
• Children are self-assured and move around the nursery with confidence. Those who are verbal chat to their friends and staff and initiate conversations with visitors. Children make independent choices about their play and staff build on these to support their learning. Children have varied opportunities to practise their independence skills, such as washing their hands. However, staff do not always ensure that children are able to practise these skills at snack time and lunchtime. This does not fully support those children who are moving on to the next stage of their education.
• Children learn about their feelings and how to manage them. Staff use resources that help children to recognise their emotions and they model good relationships. Children show respect for one another. For example, they fetch another child's sun hat for them. Staff talk to children about sharing, taking turns and using good manners. Children willingly meet these expectations.
• Leaders and staff work well together as a team and have a shared understanding of the ethos of the setting. They reflect on the quality of the provision together and make changes to improve it. For example, they realised that children were not using the role play area much so have tried different layouts to make it more attractive to them. Leaders value staff and give them good opportunities to improve their knowledge and skills. They also check on their well-being, which has become a particular focus during the pandemic.
• Partnerships with parents are particularly effective. Staff regularly share information with them about their children's progress. They work especially closely with those whose children need additional support. This involves parents in their children's care and education.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop further the opportunities for children to practise independence skills, particularly those who are moving on to the next stage in their education
• enhance staff's understanding of the curriculum to enable them to further support children to make the best possible progress.