Silverdale Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy to arrive and they settle quickly, showing joy as they see their key person. They enter the welcoming setting with ease and are eager to engage in the play opportunities provided by staff. Children respond to a well-thought-out curriculum, where staff promote the skills for children to achieve the next stage in their learning and encourage them to revisit skills previously learned. Children demonstrate good cutting skills as they cut out a picture of a duck they have drawn. They work together to create a picture of five little ducks in the pond. Staff extend children's learning across other areas of development, such as counting, singing and promoting sharing during this activity.

Children's experiences are widened through weekly sessions to a forest school and tending to their vegetable garden. Children talk with excitement about the pumpkins they are currently growing. Some children have become very interested in this opportunity and particularly like cherries. They have saved the seeds from home, which are currently drying out ready to plant in their vegetable garden the following week. Children show high levels of independence and good hygiene practices during their day. For example, they wash their own hands, wipe their nose, place the used tissue in the bin and find their name to self-register on arrival. During snack time, children independently cut their own fruit, pour their own drink of milk and place their washing up in a bowl when they have finished.

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

• Children make independent choices and access their environment freely. For example, children excitedly draw with chalk on the floor, creating circles to play their own version of hopscotch. Staff support this by modelling how to write numbers in the circles so that children can jump to the corresponding number they call out. Staff are good role models for children, being sensitive to their care needs. For example, they discuss sun safety with children and encourage them to help put on their own sun cream and choose a sun hat to wear before entering the garden area. However, staff are not always aware of whether children are showing good levels of engagement. For example, during a group activity, a child who was not engaging age-appropriately went unnoticed for some time. Staff could have supported the child better to help them engage in the environment when they left the activity, following their interests to improve engagement.
• Leaders and managers support staff well, including through regular staff meetings and one-to-one supervisions. They identify staff's training needs well during these meetings. Staff access training regularly. For example, staff training has included attachment in young children, speech and language, and child development. This enables staff to have the knowledge to ensure children progress well in their learning and development. Leaders' and managers' knowledge is strong and they tune in well to staff's well-being. Leaders failed to notify Ofsted of a change of manager, which is a breach of requirements. However, there is no impact on children's safety because the manager has been working at one of their other settings, suitability checks have been completed by the provider, and the manager demonstrates a secure knowledge of their role and responsibilities.
• Staff have good knowledge of children's home circumstances and support children and their parents well. Children make good progress. Staff use additional funds well to support children. For example, staff are swift to act when they recognise that a child is becoming overwhelmed. They provide them with access to a sensory room, which was created using additional funds. This results in the child being able to re-engage in the environment.
• Parents report that they love the space that the nursery provides and the wider opportunities. For example, children wrote letters to the new King and walked to post these. Parents are pleased with the strong level of communication they receive on a regular basis. They feel that if they have a worry or concern, they are listened to and staff are very prompt to react. Key persons collect children from the door. Parents and children have built a trusting relationship with them. This is shown by how children respond to seeing their key person and how eager they are to enter the nursery with them. Parents are aware of where their children's learning is at and home learning packs are provided to help children continue their progression in all seven areas of learning at home as well.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen staff awareness of children who require additional support and adapt activities consistently to promote higher levels of engagement.