Start Well Learning Limited

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children demonstrate high levels of energy and excitement as they enter the vibrant and well-resourced environment. Children develop exceptionally strong emotional attachments with their key person when settling in to this wonderfully welcoming nursery. Staff build nurturing relationships to ensure children feel safe and secure from the moment they start by providing lots of cuddles and reassurance. Babies snuggle into the staff to be comforted when they are ready for a sleep. This demonstrates secure emotional attachments. Children of all ages are eager to play and explore. Whether that be pre-school children using their small muscles to dig in the sand, or babies using their creativity to explore the sounds musical instruments make.

Children's language and communication are of paramount importance in the nursery. Staff provide a language-rich environment where they talk to children, sing songs and read books. On a bug hunt, children find an insect. A staff member suggests using a magnifying glass to explore its intricate features and then the children connect what they have seen to stories. Later, when children find a caterpillar, staff encourage them to remember where it sleeps. Children confidently recall that it is 'in a cocoon'.

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

• Overall, care practices are good. Staff provide younger children with lots of opportunities to feed themselves at snack and lunchtime. They talk to children about the importance of eating a healthy diet and support them when they need help. This encourages children to become increasingly independent. However, staff do not always teach children about the importance of following good hygiene practices. Therefore, children do not always learn the importance of keeping their teeth healthy.
• Children develop a real love of books. They happily sit down and listen intently to stories. Staff read books with great intonation and children are excited to see what might be on the next page. Children point out pictures they like and confidently repeat familiar phrases. They learn new vocabulary and understand that print carries meaning, creating confident communicators. For example, reading the story 'Dear Zoo', all the children recite 'so they sent him back'.
• Children excitedly approach the planting and growing area. Staff's interactions spark children's thirst for learning and their thinking skills. For example, the staff member says, 'look at the green beans, are they green or purple?' She explains they are not ready to be eaten and children share the beans out to look at them. This encourages knowledge and understanding of the world around them.
• Staff support children's early mathematical understanding well and weave mathematical concepts throughout children's play and at routine times of the day. They develop children's understanding of number and recognise a small total when counting. Children make simple calculations, such as working out the total when one more is added. For example, choosing lion pictures, they count every time they choose another lion, increasing the total each time.
• Staff are highly experienced, knowledgeable and well qualified. They fully recognise that each child is unique. They make all attempts to ensure that children make progress in their learning according to their starting points and capabilities. However, occasionally, staff do not always plan adult-led activities that capture the attention or interest of all children.
• The nursery widens children's opportunities and gives them experiences that they may not otherwise have had. For example, staff provide children of all ages with a trip into the local town, where all children purchased poppies. Children made a wreath and took it to the cenotaph on Armistice Day. This helps to broaden children's understanding of other people and the local community.
• The dedicated manager and her staff are relentless in their pursuit for excellence. They lead the nursery with great determination and have created a climate of expectations and an insistence on the very best for every child. The manager takes an exceptionally active role in the setting. She supports staff extremely well indeed. Staff speak enthusiastically about the managers and are dedicated to their roles.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to help children learn about good oral health practices, such as regular teeth brushing, and why these are important
• adapt adult-led activities to ensure they capture all children's interest and encourage children to become highly engaged.