Sowing & Growing Nursery and Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are welcomed into the nursery by friendly staff and they settle quickly. They know and understand the routines in each room across the nursery, throughout the day. Hence, children are calm, happy and have a good sense of belonging in the nursery. Younger children enjoy the comfort of staff members and confidently explore and interact with the activities available to them. Staff know the children's individual needs well. They closely follow babies' routines from home, ensuring consistency in their care.

Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour and conduct. Children learn simple rules and boundaries, which staff help younger children to follow. For example, that they must wash their hands before eating. Staff are good role models for children. They set examples for children, such as saying 'please' and 'thank you'. Older children learn about different emotions, how they feel and why. This helps children to develop confidence in managing their own feelings. They are encouraged to use their voice when upset so others will know, understand and help.

Children learn to be independent from an early age. Babies learn to feed themselves with a spoon, while older children serve their own meals. Across the nursery, children make independent choices about their learning, including choosing activities of their choice which align with their interests.

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

• The manager and staff team create an ambitious curriculum for all children. They know the children well and understand how they learn. A robust settling-in policy ensures that key persons gather information on what children can already do, and what they need to learn next. Staff use observations and assessments well to design an appropriate curriculum for children, to help scaffold their learning.
• Staff ensure children have plenty of opportunities to develop their natural curiosity. Babies explore the environment as staff add new words to their actions, such as, 'bang' and 'sticky' as they explore with glue to make their pictures.
• Children have a positive attitude to learning. They eagerly explore and are well engaged. For instance, the outdoor learning space provides children of all ages the opportunity to extend their knowledge and abilities, with access to fresh air and exercise. Here, children enjoy a wide range of learning opportunities, including water play. Staff support children to develop a range of skills, many of which strengthen the children's fine motor skills and concentration, preparing them for writing. Among these skills, children's understanding of mathematics is encouraged, as is their social interaction with others.
• The relationships that form among children, parents and staff reflect a positive and respectful culture. Staff help children to learn about the wider world and each other's similarities and differences. Children feel safe and secure.
• Room transitions are well supported throughout the nursery. Key persons complete documents to share children's development information. Managers and staff meet to discuss children's individual needs and personality traits and how to best support the children. Parents are well informed about transitions and the nursery ensures parents are fully supported.
• Parents are highly complimentary about the nursery. They talk about the, 'kind and friendly nature of the staff team' and how happy their children are to be at the setting. They welcome the photos and observations they can view on the online portal. Staff share information with parents about their child's progress in relation to their learning and development. They help parents to support and extend their child's learning at home.
• Children develop a love of books from a young age. They enjoy sharing stories with staff. Older children join in with discussions about the story, words and phrases. In the baby room, books are shared to help children build on their learning. For example, babies hand books to staff and cuddle up as they listen and point to the pictures. However, on occasions, such as during toddlers' personal care routines and some older children's discussions with staff, staff do not use these opportunities consistently well to extend children's vocabulary and language skills fully.
• The manager is highly reflective of staff practice and the provision. She supports changes to improve the education and care provided to all children. She recognises staff's individual strengths and provides effective support to all staff. Staff feel very well supported in their roles and receive good opportunities to enhance their professional development with further training. The manager ensures information is cascaded to staff effectively. For example, they consistently monitor staff practice and outcomes for children.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• continue to support staff so they are more confident in their ability to use opportunities as they arise to extend children's vocabulary and language skills further, such as, introducing new ideas and concepts to help children build on what they already know.