Smarties Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff's expert teaching and inventive educational programmes are inspired by their wealth of qualifications, outstanding mentoring from leaders and extensive professional development opportunities. Staff methodically plan a limitless curriculum that motivates children to the highest level. There is a strong focus on outdoor learning. This ignites children's sense of awe and wonder of the world. It is also particularly beneficial to children who have limited access to outside space and those who prefer to play outdoors.

During their time in nursery, children develop a wealth of new knowledge and skills in readiness for school. Staff skilfully weave in early mathematics, and older children demonstrate exceptional language, self-care skills and behaviour. They play collaboratively and are engrossed in captivating forest school activities. While making a fire, children take part in tasks that further develop their already impressive hand-eye coordination. For example, they use steel and flint to create sparks and prune branches and stems with secateurs.

Staff show warmth and affection towards children, who are excited to attend. They create a joyful and nurturing environment. This helps children to settle quickly, develop the highest levels of confidence and feel happy, safe and secure. Babies and younger children love snuggling up to their key person for a story and enjoy highly engaging and attentive care routines. Staff provide a wealth of enticing tactile media and materials that facilitate babies' and young children's fascinations in using all of their senses to explore and investigate.

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

• Staff have an in-depth understanding of each child, how they learn and their next steps in learning. They work tirelessly with other professionals and parents to help children to catch up in their development. For example, key staff plan communication interventions that benefit all children. Staff share activity ideas, rhymes and a nursery library with parents and model storytelling in videos. Children take home the nursery bear and monkey, accompanied by a bedtime story and bag of belongings.
• Staff enrich children's experiences through a wide range of extra-curricular activities, outings and visitors. For example, they support children to take part in experiments in a science lab, meet emergency service personnel and take part in interactive animal workshops. All age groups of children embark on exciting adventures locally and those which require a bus or train ride.
• Staff promote children's communication skills wonderfully. They create a language-rich environment and carefully select books for cosy story areas. Even babies visit the local library. Staff bring stories to life with exciting props and link displays, activities and themes to children's favourite stories. Staff sing spontaneously and expose children to a whole genre of music.
• Staff promote children's physical development superbly. Babies crawl over gently sloping soft blocks and toddlers propel themselves on sit-and-ride toys. Young children negotiate the climbing cube and walk across planks and tree stumps. Children put on safety helmets before whizzing around on balance bicycles. Older children develop astounding balance and coordination as they learn to walk across a slackline.
• Staff are excellent role models. They praise children constantly and instil important social skills, such as respect and kindness. Younger children greet one another during the 'welcome' song. Older children make 'potions' together and follow important safety instructions while sitting around the fire drinking hot chocolate. Children beam with pride when they receive a 'golden acorn' for their 'fantastic' use of the secateurs.
• Staff work in excellent partnership with parents. They share expansive information and plan activity sessions and many events, such as first-aid training and children's graduation. Staff and parents help young children to transition away from their dummy. For example, they encourage children to place these in bags on the 'dummy tree' for the 'fairies' to take.
• Staff provide extensive opportunities for children to recognise their own and others' uniqueness. They create 'family' boards and encourage older children to create portraits and compare the different homes they live in. Children observe the richness of diversity in resources, and parents share their knowledge and artefacts as children learn about multiculturalism. Children readily access their 'special' left-handed scissors.
• Staff promote children's emotional well-being to the highest level. They meticulously plan children's transitions with parents as children start and move through the nursery. Consequently, children have secure attachments to staff. Staff create a calm, homely and harmonious environment, introducing yoga, meditation, 'spa' sessions and 'calm' dens.
• Children have an excellent diet and learn where healthy food comes from. Staff teach them how to make vegetable soup during forest school sessions and transfer potatoes from the polytunnel to the nursery garden to grow. Children make potato wedges in the air fryer.