Smart Start Nursery Limited

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive at the setting to a warm, welcoming staff team that greets them with smiles and gentle encouragement. This helps children separate from their parents and settle quickly into their day. The curriculum is ambitious for all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Staff have high expectations of what every child can achieve and adapt activities to ensure that all make good progress. Children respond positively to these high expectations, showing curiosity and engagement in their play.

The environment is calm and nurturing. Staff take time to build strong and trusting relationships with children, which supports their emotional well-being. Staff follow children's interests and encourage them to interact with their peers and build friendships. As a result, children feel safe and are confident to explore and engage in play.

Children develop good independence skills. They are well supported during daily routines, such as when serving their own food, and are praised for their efforts. Children moving on to school are able to have conversations and hear stories about the transitions. They also have opportunities to visit the new settings to help them feel confident and ready for the next stage in their learning.

Children benefit from a consistent and caring staff team. Staff spend time getting to know the children and use their understanding of each child to extend their learning across all areas. For example, staff model new language when children explore different fruits. They encourage children to talk about what they see and taste. Most children behave well, and staff guide them calmly when needed, helping children learn skills that prepare them for future learning.

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

• Leaders and staff work together to create a curriculum that is shaped around the needs and interests of all children. Planning is informed by regular observations, and leaders meet regularly with staff to reflect on children's progress and next steps.
• Staff are kind, calm and caring in the way they interact with children. They gently encourage children to join in with activities, helping them build confidence, make friends and become more independent.
• Children have various opportunities to develop their physical skills, indoors and outdoors. Young children learn how to use the slide safely when showing an interest in climbing. Older children enjoy riding on cars, learning about space and safety. At the park, children have opportunities to develop their coordination and large-muscle skills when using the larger equipment. Staff plan daily outings for children. This helps them to experience and learn about the diverse community they live in.
• The nursery places a strong focus on helping children feel ready and confident for the transition to school. Staff talk to children about what to expect, read books with them about starting school and help them become familiar with new routines. Children also get the chance to visit their future school. These thoughtful steps help reduce anxiety and build excitement, making the transition a positive experience for both children and families.
• Staff build friendly and effective partnerships with parents and carers. Families say they feel welcome and comfortable approaching staff with questions or concerns. Parents are kept informed with daily updates about their children's care, such as what they have eaten or how long they slept. Termly meetings with parents provide an opportunity to talk about children's learning and development. However, parents are not consistently supported on how they can support and extend their children's learning at home.
• Leaders make staff's well-being a priority, creating a positive working environment where staff feel valued and supported. This happy, stable team is key to creating a nurturing space for children. Leaders also take responsibility for checking that the nursery is safe every day. For example, they ensure that risk assessments of the rooms, garden and outings are completed. While some staff are still building confidence in carrying out these checks themselves, the leadership team is providing ongoing support and training. This helps staff to continuously feel secure and confident in their role to keep children safe.
• Staff benefit from regular supervision sessions with leaders, which provide opportunities for reflection and development. However, these are not always precise and consistent enough to effectively support staff individually. This means that teaching and practice can vary across the setting at times.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen staff supervision processes to provide more targeted support and guidance that brings consistency in the quality of teaching and practice across the setting
• enhance partnerships with parents and consistently share children's next steps in learning and development to help support children's learning at home.