St Paul's Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and safe at the nursery. They receive warm and reassuring handovers as they arrive. This helps them to separate with ease and make a confident start to the day. Staff use mirrors and emotion cards to support children to understand their feelings and name them. Children are confident to let adults know of their needs and wishes and seek support from them when needed. Staff skilfully help children to develop their vocabulary by encouraging back-and-forth interactions.

Children move independently and with confidence in a well-resourced environment. The nursery is clean and tidy, and there is a strong focus on hygiene and cleanliness. For example, children are asked what they need to do before snack time. They respond by saying 'wash our hands'. This promotes children developing self-care habits. During snack time, staff sing songs to remind children of what they need to do next. This helps children to know what is expected of them and develop social skills for the future. Younger children spend time with older children as they prepare for room transitions. Older children hold hands with them, modelling appropriate behaviour, and showing care and kindness. This contributes to a culture of nurture and acceptance across the nursery.

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

• Staff assess children's needs, and work sensitively with parents and carers to plan children's next steps in learning. Parents receive regular updates to keep them informed about the progress which their children are making. Staff request support from external agencies for children, as needed.
• Younger children access resources to develop their strength, balance and coordination. With encouragement and support, babies go through tunnels and pull themselves up on large-play equipment. This helps them to develop their physical skills and prepare them for taking their first steps.
• Parents complete home-language books to support children who speak English as an additional language. This enables staff to use children's home languages during their play and learning. Staff model key words and phrases so that children build on their spoken English over time.
• Staff use lunchtimes to provide opportunities for children to learn new words and do things for themselves. They talk about 'yummy' and 'healthy' vegetables, and help children to use forks and spoons to eat. Staff give children positive praise to help them to take pride in their achievements.
• Overall, staff use children's interests to help them to learn through play. For example, children extend their interests in buildings and where they live through playing in a pretend building site. Occasionally, resources are laid out for children by adults which may limit opportunities for them to shape their own play.
• A well-planned transition process helps staff to build excellent relationships with children and gain a secure understanding of their routines and comforters. This means that children experience a responsive and caring settling-in period.
• Parents' feedback shows that they value the service they receive. They praise the happy, kind and caring staff team. Parents receive a weekly newsletter which updates them on what their children have been doing, and includes links to extend their children's learning at home.
• The manager and deputy keep up to date with developments in the early years by accessing training, including that which is offered by the local authority. They spend time alongside staff modelling best practice and have a strong vision for the nursery.
• Staff speak highly of the manager and her deputy, and of the support which they offer. They share that they are offered weekly support for their well-being, regular one-to-one supervision sessions and training and development opportunities. This contributes to a motivated staff team, who feel valued and supported.
• Staff know what they want children to learn during adult-led activities. However, they do not implement these activities consistently to help older children to extend their learning and follow their interests. As a result, some children are not fully engaged in their learning at these times.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• offer children more opportunities to choose how they want to play with resources, so that they can extend their learning further
• strengthen adult-led activities to support pre-school children to build on their current knowledge and extend their interests.