Soul Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children happily arrive at this friendly, caring nursery. Staff make them feel welcome and support them to explore the activities on offer. This helps children to settle quickly. Babies shake musical toys and crawl around carefully considered spaces. Toddlers play with pretend ocean creatures and go off to find toy sharks to add into their game. Pre-school children paint their own pictures on sheets of foil.

Children have great fun as they learn and play. As a result, they make good progress. For example, toddlers giggle and clap as they join in with action songs. Older children explore cause and effect as they fill containers, using pipettes. They laugh when water squirts out quickly. Children enjoy the sensory experience of playing with shaving foam. They immerse their hands into the mixture and celebrate when they find hidden objects.

Children have strong bonds with all adults. Staff are gentle and kind with babies and engage them in regular singing times. If babies become upset, staff are quick to soothe and distract them with sensory toys and stories. Toddlers snuggle next to staff to look at books and play matching games. Older children greet staff with hugs and chat excitedly about what they are doing.

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

• The curriculum builds on what children already know and can do. Staff use information obtained from parents to establish children's starting points. They assess children's progress and act on this information to support children's next steps. All children, including those with special education needs and/or disabilities, make good progress over time.
• Children learn independence skills from the very start. This helps to prepare them for their next stage of learning. Babies feed themselves using their fingers and spoons. Toddlers take off their own shoes and put on their wellington boots. Children proudly demonstrate how they put on coats. They lay them on the floor and expertly flip them over their heads. Staff encourage children by saying 'keep trying'.
• Children show cooperation and kindness. For example, they share out footballs and wait for their turn to use climbing equipment. They show an awareness of routines and expectations. Toddlers remind each other to 'stop and wait' at the top of a ramp when outdoor play sessions finish. Staff encourage turn taking. For example, they use sand timers to help children understand when their time has finished using a popular toy.
• Children have opportunities to be physically active. Pre-school children use climbing equipment and slides. They chase each other and race around on bicycles. Staff encourage babies to crawl towards them. They sing 'Row, row, row your boat' and support babies to move their arms forwards and backwards like oars.
• Children develop their fine motor skills. This helps to strengthen their muscles in preparation for writing. Babies delight in drawing lines in cocoa powder. Toddlers expertly thread cereal hoops onto dried spaghetti to make towers. Children in the pre-school room use scissors to cut up feathers and shapes. They confidently make snips in paper to create their own 'feathers'.
• Staff are happy in their roles. They comment on good levels of support and job satisfaction. Leaders monitor staff's practice and target training opportunities. Staff are encouraged to work with children of different ages. This helps to broaden their experience and skills.
• Children receive support as they transition between rooms of the nursery. Staff pass on information about their care and emotional needs. As a result, children settle very quickly.
• Parents comment that staff are approachable and friendly. They report that their children love attending. However, staff do not always support parents to fully understand what their children have been doing and build on this at home.
• Staff support children's communication and language skills. Staff narrate children's play and introduce new vocabulary during story times. Staff in the baby room repeat words and give meaning to children's gestures. However, staff do not always model language so that children hear correctly pronounced words.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen partnerships with parents and support them with ways to extend their children's learning at home
• support children's language development further by modelling the correct pronunciation of words and phrases.