Snapdragons Nursery Keynsham

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and well cared for at this welcoming nursery. They form secure attachments with the staff, who know them well. Leaders create an ambitious curriculum to support children to gain the skills they need for future learning. Children display positive attitudes to learning. They are confident to explore the spacious learning environment, which staff thoughtfully set up to meet their development needs. Babies receive cuddles from the caring staff. This helps them to feel safe and secure. Young children display an interest in books and build familiarity with characters as they lift the flaps to reveal the pictures underneath. Staff point to the characters and introduce single words to support children's early communication skills.

Children have plenty of opportunities to play outdoors. They learn to negotiate space and balance their bodies as they climb on apparatus. Staff help children to learn how to keep themselves safe. They gently remind children to sit down on their bottom when using the slide. During a woodwork activity, staff remind older children to wait behind the rope for their turn. They explain that 'Betty the bow saw' has sharp teeth and could hurt them. Staff model how to use the saw effectively, and children carefully follow their instructions. Children beam with pride as they show their friends that they have made a wooden medal.

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

• Leaders and managers work together to design a curriculum that prepares children for the next stage of their learning. However, they do not ensure that all staff, particularly those who are new to their role, have a secure enough understanding of this. Not all staff are clear about what they want children to learn and why they need to learn it. Consequently, staff do not consistently target children's learning as well as they could to enable them to make the best possible progress.
• Staff understand the importance of consistent daily routines to promote children's feelings of security and their expectations of what happens now and what comes next. However, at times, staff disrupt children's play because they do not always organise routines well enough. For example, children spend prolonged periods waiting for the group to get ready to play outside.
• Staff help children to develop good communication and language skills. Children of all ages enjoy singing nursery rhymes together and confidently join in with action songs. They sit together and play familiar games, such as 'What's in the Bag?' Children take turns to reach inside and use descriptive language to explain to their friends what they are looking for. For example, children confidently tell the group, 'I am looking for something hard'.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and/or in receipt of additional funding make very good progress. Staff ensure children with SEND receive targeted support to develop their communication and language skills in a variety of ways. For example, they use visual aids and simple signing. The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) works extremely well with external agencies and parents.
• Staff and leaders place a strong focus on supporting children's emotional well-being. They help children to learn self-regulation and social skills. For example, in their newly adapted mindfulness room, children learn to listen to others and take turns as they sit in a circle and engage in a group activity. Staff include and engage all children and provide individual praise for their efforts.
• Staff value children as unique individuals and encourage them to share their cultures and traditions. They involve children in a broad range of celebrations and festivals special to them, such as Thanksgiving and Diwali. This supports children's understanding of diversity and the wider world.
• Staff promote positive partnerships with parents and carers. Information about children's learning is continuously shared with them through daily discussions, newsletters and digital observations. Parents' feedback is extremely positive. They highlight staff's dedication and professionalism and value the range of experiences on offer, such as forest school sessions.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance staff's understanding of what they want children to learn and why, and further support their teaching skills to enable them to consistently deliver high-quality, targeted learning experiences
• strengthen the organisation of key routines to minimise disruptions to children's play and enhance children's engagement and focus in learning.