Stutton Young Explorers

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Babies and children flourish in this very inclusive and welcoming nursery. The management team and staff provide a robust key-person system and a bespoke settling-in process. This means that children settle swiftly and seamlessly, gradually building attachments with the caring, nurturing staff before they start. Babies are relaxed in their environment. They take a pause and enjoy sitting on a comfy chair, giggling and applauding with delight as their peers glide down the slide. Staff gently guide and remind babies to slide down individually. This excellent role modelling means they are learning to keep themselves safe and beginning to understand the behaviours expected of them.

Babies and children love the endless choice of stimulating play experiences and continuous access to outdoor play. Through the available opportunities to experience forest school and endless real-life experiences, children discover and learn about the world they live in. As children enthusiastically scoop the flesh out of pumpkins, they develop their imaginations and confidently play out their own ideas, such as making pumpkin soup. Staff extend children's learning by encouraging them to pick herbs they have grown in the garden. By using these fresh ingredients, such as rosemary, children begin to connect with nature and learn where food and real flavours come from.

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

• Overall, teaching across the nursery is very good. Regular assessments of children's progress ensure they all make significant progress from their starting points. Staff know individual children well and use their interests and stages of development to extend learning in fun ways. High levels of consideration are given to the accessibility and inclusivity of the self-selection of resources. As a result, children become proactive in leading their own play and learning.
• Staff build on what children already know and can do. For example, staff create a stimulating autumn-themed activity with resources such as lentils and plastic tweezers, which sparks curiosity and high engagement. As children squeeze the tweezers together to pick up objects and scoop lentils into different containers, they develop their hand and finger strength. This helps them achieve everyday activities, such as doing up their zip and learning to grip a pencil with control.
• The passionate and professional management team continuously reflects on the service it provides and how the team can continually improve. Staff report excellent well-being and appreciate the active role that leaders play in the day- to-day running of the nursery. They provide staff with training opportunities and frequently model good teaching practice, which helps less experienced staff teach at the highest level.
• Meticulous care is given to meet children's specific, and sometimes highly complex, health needs. The management team and staff communicate regularly with parents and outside professionals, such as paediatric nurses, to ensure that all staff understand the detailed plans for their care and ensure that they are strictly followed.
• Babies and children make significant progress in their speech and language development. Children with delayed speech and language benefit from effective targeted interventions. They also learn Makaton sign language to help them to communicate. However, occasionally, staff do not consider the complexity of some of the new vocabulary they introduce or how they ask questions during play, to ensure children continually speak with increasing confidence and use new vocabulary that enables them to communicate effectively.
• Children's emotional well-being is given unquestionable priority. Children are well behaved and play cooperatively with their peers. They learn how to express and understand their feelings through books, songs and coordinated sensory resources. Staff are sensitive and attentive to all children, showing genuine care if they are upset. When children struggle to regulate their emotions, they confidently go to staff for reassurance or instigate a cuddle.
• Babies and children become increasingly independent in their self-care needs, with lots of praise and encouragement. They gradually learn to pour their own drinks at mealtimes and feed themselves, with the right level of support from staff. A merry handwashing tune successfully promotes good hygiene habits. As a result, older children independently know to wash their hands before eating and after using the toilet.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• consistently provide children with opportunities to speak with increasing confidence and enhance their speech and communication skills to build on the already good teaching.