Spring - RAF Halton

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are greeted with warmth by caring staff who are genuinely delighted to see them. Staff take time to build strong connections with children and their families before they start. Individualised settling-in procedures cater to each child's unique needs. This allows them to quickly feel comfortable and eagerly participate in activities of their choice. Staff serve as strong role models who have high expectations for children's behaviour. Children from military families are supported well. Staff work with children and parents to support them through times of deployment, acknowledging this can be a difficult time, for all involved.

Overall, children's interests are followed well and staff use these to plan activities to support them in their learning. For example, younger children enjoy exploring loose parts in the tuff tray. Older children measure out ingredients to make their own gingerbread, recalling prior learning from the traditional tale of 'The Gingerbread Man.' Children behave well and listen to instructions. They are polite and older children use please and thank you, unprompted.

Children's physical development is promoted well. Children have opportunities to climb, balance and run freely in the outdoor area. They benefit from weekly forest school sessions, as well as the newly developed outside area. This helps to develop children's large-muscle movements. Children have opportunities to practice their fine motor skills. Pre-school children enjoy rolling, kneading and cutting the playdough and younger children make marks with water, on the easel with age-appropriate paint brushes. This helps to develop their fine motor skills and supports their dexterity in early writing, in readiness for school.

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

• New leaders have been appointed and have worked hard to improve the nursery since the last inspection. They have also worked with the Local Authority who have supported them with action and improvement plans, which leaders have successfully implemented.
• Leaders support staff in a variety of professional development opportunities to ensure that the children's needs are met and procedures are fully maintained. Staff feel that leaders prioritise their well-being. They receive regular supervision where they can discuss a range of issues. Leaders support staff to gain childcare qualifications to develop their career. This ensures that staff continually improve their teaching to help improve outcomes for children.
• Staff and leaders have worked hard to embed a high-quality provision for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, (SEND), and speech delays. Staff work closely with parents and other professionals to provide children with personalised support plans to help them make the best possible progress. Any additional funding the nursery receives is used to support children's individual needs.
• Leaders create an ambitious curriculum for the children in their care. Staff know the broad aims for children's learning, and development. However, some staff are unclear on the specific learning intentions for activities and how these support children's development. This means that some staff do not focus their teaching precisely enough to help children build on what they know and can do.
• Children benefit from a language-rich environment. Staff are animated as they read books and sing songs with actions, throughout the day. Staff benefit from recent communication and language training. This includes a creative approach to support children's communication and language development through storytelling. These help children to be good communicators.
• All children have a key person. Staff understand the importance of this role in helping children build attachments and feel safe and secure. However, opportunities for children to spend time with their key person are not always maximised.
• Partnerships with parents are strong. Leaders and staff have recently implemented a range of strategies to further engage with parents. For instance, parents' meetings and resources to share at home to support learning. In addition, observation and assessment information is now regularly shared on the nursery's learning, and development application. These strategies have successfully been implemented and parents comment positively to this effect.
• Children show that they are developing good levels of independence. For example, they help to tidy up and put on their own coats ready for outdoor play. Younger children are starting to learn to feed themselves and older children are confident self-serving their meals. For example, they use cutlery competently, pour their own drinks and scrape their plates at the end of lunchtime.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to fully understand the intent behind the curriculum to more precisely identify, and plan for, individual children's learning needs
• improve how children and key people can spend more time together to build further on children's attachments and feelings of belonging and security.