Stockport Village Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are eager to enter this vibrant nursery. They wave their parents goodbye at the front door and greet their friends with hugs. Children are happy, feel safe and have a strong sense of belonging. Staff support children's personal, social and emotional development exceptionally well. They have devised a bespoke settling-in programme for each child and spend time getting to know their families. This helps children to settle incredibly well and supports their emotional well-being.

Staff are good role models and provide children with clear expectations for their behaviour. Children are kind, behave well and show care towards each other. They know what staff expect of them. Overall, staff use what they know about children to plan an ambitious curriculum. This helps children to develop the necessary skills in readiness for their next steps in learning, including their eventual move on to school.

Children are confident and self-assured individuals. They are keen to showcase their dance moves and to demonstrate how toys operate. Staff support children's love of reading effectively. They encourage children to read books with their friends and to talk about the illustrations. Children relish enacting the roles of characters from stories. They talk to staff about visiting the library and sharing books with their families. Staff support children's imaginations well. They help children to build 'magical homes' from snow and travel to a 'fairy land' outdoors.

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

• Leaders are relentless in their pursuit to provide children and their families with the very best care and education. They use self-evaluation incredibly well. Improvement plans are precise, and leaders demonstrate a strong commitment to bringing about change.
• Overall, staff provide children with a well-ordered and balanced curriculum. They use what they know about children to keep them interested and motivated to learn. However, some staff are not fully aware of what leaders intend children to learn. This means that some activities are not pitched at the right level, and some children lose interest in their learning.
• Staff know the local area well and understand what children need to learn to be prepared for life in modern Britain. They teach children to be proud of where they come from. Older children discuss different families, such as how some children have two mums or one dad. Children relish taking part in activities about celebrations and festivals from around the world. For example, they learn cultural dances, experience new songs and taste different foods. Children are well-rounded individuals who have a good understanding of similarities and differences between themselves and others.
• Staff encourage children to engage in conversations. They listen to children with genuine interest. However, on occasion, some staff do not use the correct vocabulary and letter sounds when interacting with children. This means that children's communication and language skills are not promoted as well as they could be.
• The support in place for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is excellent. Leaders understand the importance of early identification, intervention and working with external agencies. They ensure that children with SEND get the support they need. This means that children with SEND flourish at this high-quality nursery.
• Partnership working is a golden thread of this nursery. Parents commend staff for going above and beyond. Staff keep parents informed of their children's care and learning. Links with the local authority, external professionals and other childcare settings are robust.
• Staff are skilled in supporting children who speak English as an additional language (EAL). They work closely with parents and speech therapists to put interventions in place. Children who speak EAL gain a good command of English.
• Leaders give staff well-being high priority. They ensure that staff workload is manageable. Staff morale is high. They report that working at the nursery is 'the best' and that the team is like an 'extended part of the family'. Leaders ensure that staff receive the relevant support during supervision sessions and appraisal meetings.
• Staff support children's large-muscle development well. They provide challenging experiences to test children's physical endurance. Older children relish taking part in ring games and assault courses. They show excellent coordination while using climbing apparatus. Younger children build their upper body strength and enjoy playing ball games. Babies skilfully pull themselves up onto low-level equipment and show great determination while using play equipment outdoors.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• help staff to have a better understanding of what leaders intend children to learn
• support staff to use the correct vocabulary and letter sounds consistently, to help children make better progress in their communication and language.