South Hills Nursery @ Trinity Devizes

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thoroughly enjoy their time in a friendly and welcoming environment. They are treated with warmth, kindness and respect by staff who listen to them and value what they have to say. Children show they feel safe and secure as they happily leave their parents at the door. Children independently hang up their coat. They display a strong sense of belonging by using the self-registration table and swiftly taking their lunch box to place it in the fridge.

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported well. Children are making good progress in all areas of the curriculum. Staff analyse what children already know and identify what they need to learn next. Staff have a good understanding of each child's learning journey. Children are thoroughly engaged in a variety of good learning opportunities. They listen attentively to staff's clear and supportive instructions.

Children's behaviour is well supported. Staff focus on positive behaviour and offer meaningful strategies to help children resolve conflict and share resources. This also helps children to develop high levels of self-esteem, as well as positive attitudes towards their learning. Children have strong bonds with their key person and settle very quickly in their attentive care.

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

• Staff sensitively join children in their play. They listen to children, make comments about what they see or do and ask them questions, allowing them time to think and respond. Staff often model language well, introducing children to new words and their meaning. For example, staff model words to describe the different ingredients of a bird feeder, and children begin to use words such as 'seeds' and 'lard', explaining what these are.
• Support for children with SEND or those who speak English as an additional language is good. The special educational needs coordinator shows a precise knowledge of those children needing extra support and the importance of working in partnership with other professionals. She utilises additional funding to support children well. For example, they have arranged for a music specialist to come in every week to teach the children physical movement and rhythm, as well as concentration skills.
• Children are kind and display levels of empathy for others. When children become upset, their friends rush to help them. They show genuine concern, making sure they are not hurt or that an adult is there before continuing with what they are doing. Staff consistently remind children of the expectations of the pre-school, such as 'kind hands', 'walking feet' and 'listening ears.' They regularly praise children for their achievements. This helps to create a positive learning environment, where children are keen to have a go at a variety of activities.
• Staff follow a daily routine and children become aware of what happens when. Children get told when transitional periods are happening. However, at times, during these transitions from play and learning to another daily routine, children are not always occupied and become restless, running around the room. Although staff give children instructions during these times, not all children follow them well or have a full understanding, meaning it takes a while to settle back into the routine.
• Staff support children's independence at snack and mealtimes. They encourage children to cut items of fruit, use a knife to spread butter and open their lunch box, while encouraging them to remove the packaging themselves. Staff share ideas with parents about healthy options for their children's lunch boxes. During lunchtime, children discuss their food items saying, 'Look what I have got. I have yoghurt and apple.' Lunchtime is a social occasion, and staff engage in conversation with children about the benefits of healthy food.
• Staff generally make good use of activities to engage children and extend their skills. For example, children explored play dough and shaped it into worms and objects they liked. They confidently shared what they made, why they made it and what will happen next. However, at times, activities are not accessible to all children, meaning some are left waiting to join in the activities of their choosing.
• Partnerships with parents are strong. Staff share information with parents through feedback and an online learning app. Parents feel thoroughly informed about their children's learning and appreciate staff's regular feedback.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• provide more support to children when activities and routines change, such as mealtimes, so that they remain engaged and occupied in their learning
• enhance the organisation and layout of activities so all learning opportunities can be accessed by all children.