Staplands Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and well cared for at this safe and homely nursery. Staff focus on getting to know children well and forming strong relationships with them. Children of all ages sit together for breakfast time, replicating a family dynamic. They get to know all of the staff team and children from different rooms while still with their key person. This promotes children's social skills and emotional well-being, and it helps them to feel secure at nursery. Staff support children to learn about sharing and turn taking. Children remember nursery rules, such as waiting their turn and using good manners. They learn to follow instructions and the daily routine well. Children know what is expected of them, and their behaviour is very good.

Staff focus on ensuring that the curriculum is accessible for all children. They use visual timetables and 'now and next' boards to help support those children who struggle with changes in the routine. Staff model good language and are beginning to learn some sign language to further support children's communication skills. They introduce new words, such as 'beautiful' and 'twirl', which children then copy. Staff narrate to children a lot about what they are doing, particularly in the baby room. This helps children to hear and copy a wide range of vocabulary. Children are confident communicators who are well prepared for the next stage in their learning.

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

• The manager has a secure understanding of what she wants children to learn. The curriculum is broad and balanced, and staff implement it well, when indoors. However, when outdoors, the curriculum is less effective. Some activities lack a clear focus, which means children lose interest quickly. This hinders children's engagement levels and learning experience, particularly those children who prefer to learn outdoors.
• Staff get to know children well. They use what they know to plan accurate next steps based on children's interests. Staff monitor children's development closely to identify and address any gaps in learning. They use additional screening tools for speech and language to help them intervene early if children are at risk of falling behind. This helps to keep children's development on track.
• Support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is effective. The newly appointed special educational needs and disabilities coordinator (SENDCo) works hard in her role. She implements targeted support for children with SEND, which helps to narrow any gaps in learning. Children with SEND make good progress from their individual starting points.
• Pre-school children enjoy listening to stories. Staff read to them with excitement and enthusiasm. They encourage children to join in with key phrases, such as 'I will huff and I will puff'. Children share their own ideas about the book and ask questions to broaden their knowledge. They are developing some key literacy skills needed for their eventual move to school.
• Staff teach children about the different things that contribute to a healthy lifestyle. They include children when devising menus of nutritious, home-cooked meals. Children take part in yoga sessions and daily exercise to build their strength and physical skills. They follow good hygiene procedures, such as handwashing before mealtimes. This contributes to children's overall good health.
• Children have a lovely attitude towards learning. They show determination and perseverance when working as a team to build a house from dough. Children recall aspects of a familiar story and create 'a little pig's house'. They negotiate which materials would be strong enough to keep the house from falling down. Children extend their own play by seeking out additional resources to help them. They are motivated and eager learners.
• Partnership with parents is strong. Parents receive information about children's development throughout the term. They have meetings with staff to contribute to children's assessments and know what their next steps in learning are. Staff provide suggestions and activities for parents to help extend learning at home. This provides continuity in children's care.
• The manager is experienced and passionate about providing a quality service. She works hard to support her team and has good relationships with children and families. Staff have supervision meetings each term and take part in some additional training to enhance their knowledge. However, some staff, particularly those who are less experienced, do not always receive specific enough feedback about how they can improve their practice further. Consequently, there are some minor inconsistencies in the quality of their interactions with children.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• focus the curriculum for outdoors more sharply on what children need to learn next, particularly for those children who prefer to learn outdoors
• strengthen the coaching and mentoring arrangements, particularly for less experienced staff, to help raise the quality of interactions to a consistently high level.