St Erth Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enjoy their time immensely at this nursery and show very high concentration and positive engagement in their play. Leaders and staff have created a highly stimulating environment that reflects children's interests. Children benefit from a well-targeted curriculum that is planned exceptionally well to meet their learning needs. As a result, all children engage highly as they learn through play and make rapid progress in their learning. Children benefit greatly from staff's excellent use of questions, developing their thinking skills very well.

Children enjoy being physically active. They learn to throw and catch a ball as well as working as a team. Children benefit weekly from a range of very positive experiences in the community, such as trips to the beach, forest schools, shopping and swimming. Staff establish highly nurturing and caring relationships with children and their families, and all children demonstrate that they feel valued. Staff continually provide challenge to enhance and extend learning. For example, they encourage the toddlers to count out the cups of flour needed to make play dough. Older children add amounts together and receive such welcoming praise from staff when they get it right. Children's behaviour is exceptional. They are very happy, safe and busy, and show very high levels of confidence in social situations.

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

• Staff embrace children's interests and sequence their learning in a way that successfully ensures all children become highly motivated learners. Staff have the very highest expectations for all children and provide the greatest level of challenge during their interactions. Children relish story times. They listen attentively and show excellent understanding as they offer key phrases and actions. There is a strong focus on developing children's speech and language. Pre-school children recall phrases and words from a favourite story and explore different words for 'big', such as 'ginormous' and 'tall'.
• Children demonstrate high levels of imagination, engagement and curiosity. For example, they enjoy role-playing firefighters and use the outside water hose as part of their play. Staff encourage older children to create a register so they can record who needs rescuing. Children make meaningful marks in their play and practise writing their name.
• Staff create a calm, nurturing and inclusive environment where children thrive. They are enthusiastic and quick to recognise, praise and celebrate children's efforts and achievements. This supports children to lead their own play and maintain their interest in activities for sustained periods.
• Toddlers practise new words as they play and learn, and some string words together to make short sentences that explain what they are doing. For example, they say 'I can roll dough' as they roll the dough flat on the table.
• Staff work tirelessly to develop children's independence, patiently taking time to involve them in the routines of the day. Children carefully cut up their fruit at snack time and persevere to get their shoes and coats on to go outside.
• Leaders identify children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) quickly. Leaders are acutely aware of any areas where children may be at risk of falling behind expected development. They work closely with parents and promptly seek help from outside professionals, where this is needed. As a result of this collaborative approach, children with SEND make substantial and sustained progress across all areas of learning.
• Staff have excellent opportunities for professional development. They regularly access online training to enhance all aspects of their practice and are encouraged to share what they have learned at monthly staff meetings. This leads to a skilful and highly organised staff team which strives to ensure every child can reach their full potential.
• Staff encourage and praise children's positive behaviour. For example, they recognise how children work exceptionally well together to complete a jigsaw puzzle, taking turns and negotiating space for the different pieces, and praise them highly for their efforts.
• Partnerships with parents and carers are excellent. Parents speak very highly about the nursery and recognise the progress their children are making. They acknowledge the tremendous efforts from managers to support them as a family during isolation periods. Staff use online systems to share learning with parents and are readily available to talk to them during drop-off and collection times.