Shining Stars Nursery School LTD

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children receive a warm and friendly welcome from staff and play happily as they explore the resources on offer. Staff support children's emotional well-being, and this increases children's resilience. Children show that they feel safe and secure at their nursery as they approach staff for hugs and support when they are finding something difficult. Staff encourage children to be increasingly independent at nursery. They offer them lots of praise as they try to do things for themselves, helping to build their sense of responsibility effectively. For example, children hang their coats and bags up when they arrive and help to serve themselves food at snack time. Children understand the routines of the day and help with tasks such as tidying away toys. They are supported to understand what is expected of them. Overall, children behave well. Children are encouraged to keep trying in their learning. For example, when they try to pass a piece of the train track for staff to complete for them, staff say, 'you can do it.' This encourages children to persevere. Children enjoy being physically active. When children use the climbing equipment, staff stand close to them, offering support and ensuring their safety when they climb and balance. Children develop a love of reading. Staff create ample opportunities for children to look at books. Older children enjoy recalling familiar stories and saying the rhymes they remember from the stories. During group times, children learn about emotions. They express how they are feeling and the reasons for this. Children confidently describe their feelings and relate these to the book on emotions they are reading.

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

• The manager and staff focus the curriculum on supporting children's communication and language skills. For example, they sing and show children how to do actions to the rhymes. Staff assess children's development, and this helps identify any gaps in children's learning. Activities are planned effectively to help close these.
• Staff speak with children as they play and encourage them to respond. For instance, when children are creating with glitter and glue, staff introduce words such as 'sparkle', 'glitter' and 'shiny' to help develop children's vocabulary.
• Parents spoken to during the inspection are happy with the care and learning their children receive. They say that staff keep them up to date about their child's progress, which helps to enable them to continue children's learning at home.
• Staff benefit from regular supervision meetings, where they can discuss their key children, their general well-being and professional development. The manager is reflective of her own and staff's practice. For example, staff have attended training recently that has supported them with strategies to help children's speech and language development.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported well. Staff work in partnership with parents and other professionals effectively to help meet the children's needs and help them make good progress.
• Overall, staff provide a challenging curriculum for all children. They identify the skills that children need to acquire for their next stage of learning. Children overall receive good levels of support from staff, who talk to children about what they are doing and ask questions to help them think for themselves. However, on occasions, the intent for learning in the activities provided lacks clarity and focus.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to implement the curriculum intent more sharply to build on what children already know and raise the quality of education to a higher level.