Small Friends Children's Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children absolutely thrive and flourish in this inclusive, loving nursery. They embrace each other's similarities and differences and show a deep understanding of how they can include and help their friends. For example, to communicate with sign language. Children form unbreakable bonds with staff and each other. They show extremely high levels of social skills and empathy for their ages. For example, children ask each other if they have food on their faces. They caringly tell each other if they have and when they have rubbed it all off.

Children benefit from a curriculum that completely encompasses and values their ideas and opinions. For example, children chose to have a pretend play café. This led to activities, such as writing food orders, food tasting and fruit painting, all ideas from the children and led by the children. Children are independent learners. They embrace new knowledge and implement it into their play with the help of extremely skilled staff. Children acquire excellent communication and language skills. They confidently rhyme words, such as cow and how. They develop a strong love of reading, confidently recalling stories and making up their own.

Children are extremely well behaved and know exactly what is expected of them. They learn table manners and listen to instructions beautifully. Even the youngest of children develop high levels of independence, such as helping to tidy up and putting rubbish in the bin. Children develop a deep understanding of how to keep themselves safe and healthy. Children remind each other to slow down in case they fall over. Staff remind children to drink water otherwise they might get a headache.

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

• The manager and staff have an excellent understanding of how children learn. They tailor their interactions to exactly what the individual children need. Staff engage children to high levels with their passion and enthusiasm. Children are mesmerised by staff's interactions. For example, the voices and actions they make while using puppets to sing with them. The sharp focus on staff's professional development means that teaching is consistently of very high quality.
• Following children's lead in play is at the heart of the curriculum. Staff place a high importance on focusing on what children are interested in and want to learn about. Consequently, children show extremely high levels of engagement, are active learners and feel valued and included. Even the youngest of children actively answer questions. They excitedly contribute their ideas for a shark to be the animal in a song and its sound should be 'Chomp, Chomp'.
• Children benefit from a first-rate, skilled staff team. Staff have high expectations of themselves. They are excellent role models for children to copy. Staff demonstrate drinking water to keep hydrated. They treat each other and children with the utmost respect. Staff use impeccable manners and excellent social skills. Consequently, children learn these skills rapidly and make excellent progress.
• Staff are skilled at supporting children's emotional intelligence and well-being. For example, when reading 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears', staff encourage children to think of ways that Goldilocks could make the bears feel better. Children kindly share suggestions, such as mending the chairs, saying sorry and giving them cuddles. Even the youngest of children are helped to manage their emotions. Staff help them to recognise when they are sad. They help them to develop ways to positively communicate what they need to feel better.
• Children acquire excellent literacy skills. They are provided with superb opportunities to recognise and write letters and words in all aspects of the nursery. For example, writing recipes, food orders, their own name cards and to label things, such as photos of flowers. Communication and language skills are also exceptionally well supported. Staff add new words into children's language, such as magma, erupt and lava. This helps expands children's vocabulary to high levels. Consequently, children make rapid progress and are well prepared for the next stage in their learning, such as school.
• Staff well-being is a high priority for the management. Staff say they are extremely valued and can approach leaders with any concerns they have. Leaders really listen to staff feedback and make changes based on staff's views. Staff have recently been given access to a reward system to value them for the hard work they do.
• Partnerships with parents are superb. Parents comment at how incredibly well staff get to know children and their individual personalities, so they feel safe and secure. The managers, in partnership with parents, use funding to the maximum benefit of the children attending.