Sandford St Martin's Nursery School CIC

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive excited and like to get fully involved in the learning activities that staff prepare for them. They work well together to make tall towers out of sponge bricks. They use magnetic shapes to construct their own vehicle designs, and they roll out play dough to make 'pizzas' and have fun inventing their own pretend baking ideas, saying, 'Would you like this sausage cake?' Staff work alongside children to help them articulate and describe their ideas. They provide children with lots of new vocabulary by reading books and singing songs throughout the day.

Staff have developed the curriculum to give children lots of physical activity and opportunities to learn mathematical vocabulary. Children love jumping on trampolines while counting and finding their number on displayed numerals. Once a week, children go on a woodland walk to experience different types of natural materials. Children talk fondly about their time in the woods and recall making mudcakes and stirring leaves with sticks.

Children feel safe and secure. Staff enjoy children's company and develop a friendly rapport with them. They support children in recognising strong emotions that they sometimes feel and help them to manage these feelings by using excerpts from children's books, such as the 'Colour Monster'.

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

• Leaders and staff have developed a clear and ambitious curriculum for children. They design learning activities that interest children and absorb their attention. Through their curriculum, they support children's preparation for school. Leaders liaise with the on-site school and ensure they support children in preparing for future learning. Staff design activities that support children's important preparatory skills, such as recognising their names, and they help children to develop good habits when learning to grip tools and pencils effectively.
• Leaders and staff provide children with a wide range of planned experiences across all areas of learning. They focus on broadening children's understanding and interest in the wider world, including the natural world and cultural diversity. For instance, children enjoy searching for wildlife that visit the garden. They watch videos of badgers and look for footprints, and staff encourage children to develop empathy and care for animals. Staff provide children with activities that promote conversations about different countries and cultures. They discuss various languages and ways people speak, enhancing children's knowledge of diverse cultures.
• Staff know children well. They know their strengths and interests and use them to develop the curriculum to engage them and help them learn. Staff also know children's developmental needs and accurately identify the next steps that will help them to make good progress, particularly for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. However, occasionally, staff do not give some children enough support to practise the skills and knowledge they need to close gaps in their learning quickly.
• Children in the nursery behave well. They follow staff's instructions and the setting's rules to ensure their safety. Staff talk to the children about the importance of staying safe and ask them to explain why rules are necessary. Children are confident answering questions. They explain that keeping their coats on hooks instead of the floor helps to keep them and others safe from tripping over. Children are proactive in identifying potential hazards and bringing them to the attention of staff, to make the environment safer.
• Leaders and staff have developed good partnerships with parents. They give parents regular updates on their children's progress and inform them of any areas of concern. Leaders promote and provide books, encouraging parents to share stories with their children. Parents choose books alongside their children as they arrive in the morning, ready to read together when they get home later in the day. Staff also encourage parents to model writing to children by writing entries into a cuddly bear's diary, which children love reading to their peers during their time at nursery.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• ensure that staff provide children with enough support to practise their next steps in learning, which staff have identified, to help children quickly close gaps in their development.