RSC Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thrive in this exceptionally nurturing and inclusive environment. Even the youngest children develop secure attachments with trusted adults and begin to explore with confidence as soon as they start to attend. Children arrive at nursery with high levels of enthusiasm and anticipation for the day and excitedly greet their friends and the staff.

Leaders and staff deliver an ambitious and inclusive curriculum that is firmly rooted in each child's unique experiences. The curriculum is exceptionally targeted and well sequenced to ensure that all staff know what they need to do for each child. This helps all staff to deliver the curriculum very consistently. Children benefit from a rich, immersive literacy curriculum that celebrates their voice and creativity. Staff teach children how to handle books respectfully and develop an enthusiasm for all types of reading material. Children show pure delight and excitement when they discover new books and are eager to share these with their friends, staff and visitors. Staff regularly ask prompting questions during story time to encourage children to recall, predict endings or suggest new alternatives, allowing their knowledge and understanding to thrive.

Staff have extremely high expectations for children's behaviour and social interactions. Children learn to share and take turns, to reason and cooperate. They converse and have fun with each other. Through the activities throughout the day, children learn to express themselves and recall experiences through imaginative play and self-chosen and adult-directed learning. This inspirational nursery places children at the heart of all it does. Staff have an exceptional understanding of each child, which underpins the thriving environment. Children are very excited about learning and display impeccable behaviour.

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

• Leaders are highly visible, responsive and committed to continuous improvement. They provide strong professional and emotional support to staff, model reflective practice and prioritise purposeful training. Leaders ensure staff's core training is continually updated. Other training is regularly attended, reflecting identified areas of development for the team.
• Staff ensure the highest quality of education for all children and that each child has a precisely planned education programme that reflects their individual needs and interests. Staff complete baseline assessments of children's prior knowledge and use regular assessments in collaboration with parents to monitor children's learning. Staff use thorough assessments to quickly identify if a child is at risk of falling behind. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are provided with the challenge that they need.
• Children benefit from extremely healthy and nutritious meals and snacks, which they relish. Staff use the sociable mealtimes to enhance children's understanding of healthy eating even further and to try new foods. Staff actively promote the importance of healthy bodies and healthy minds. Healthy eating, exercise and oral hygiene are embedded in the curriculum effectively. Allergies and preferences are accommodated.
• Children are remarkably motivated learners with tremendously positive attitudes to learning. Younger children confidently explore different areas and resources and select what interests them. Staff seize opportunities to model words and to introduce children to vocabulary in different contexts, such as explaining to children that the 'drip drip drip' sound they here is the rain hitting the roof.
• The setting offers an extremely well-resourced and stimulating environment that captivates children's interests and enables them to make independent choices about their play. For example, children pretend to go on holiday on the indoor open-air bus or on the large wooden horse. Older children enjoy writing and mark making. Children enjoy moulding play dough with their hands and using various cutting tools to create unique structures.
• Mealtimes are sociable occasions where children sit together as a family group, eat at tables laid with tablecloths and cutlery and pour their own drinks from jugs. Children learn about the importance of personal hygiene through conversations, role modelling and daily routines that embed lifelong habits. Children show excellent social skills as they are very content to sit together in their friendship groups.
• Staff skilfully adapt their approach to each child's stage of development, using strategies such as repetition, pausing and gesture, particularly for those whose language is still emerging. Children become highly confident communicators and use expressive language to share their thoughts, ideas and experiences.
• The outdoor environment is a rich and integral part of the curriculum, offering children daily opportunities for exploration, creativity and physical development. Children have access to a vast space to run, explore and develop their gross motor skills. Children squeal with delight as they climb, run and balance on wooden frames and logs. Staff demonstrate outstanding teamwork, ensuring effective deployment so all children are fully supported in their play and learning, both indoors and outdoors.
• Partnerships with parents are exceptionally strong. Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the care and education the setting provides. They say that their children thrive and are at the heart of all decisions made by staff in a diverse and vibrant environment. Parents and carers receive a wealth of information to support their child's learning at home.