Teddy's Garden Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are highly motivated and eager to learn. They make rapid progress because they have time to practise the skills required to become independent learners. As a result, children are exceptionally confident to assist their own needs. Children's well-being is of top priority. Children progress to the next stage of learning when they are physically and emotionally ready. Children have their needs fully met because their key persons are proficient and highly skilled in evaluating children's next steps for learning.

Children flourish within small groups where they receive targeted support. They demonstrate excellent behaviour and are extremely polite. Older children are confident to reflect on their own behaviour. They understand the choices they make that are good and also talk about how they might do things differently next time. Children are extremely self-assured and confident because key persons have high expectations of what they can do. They make their own choices in an inclusive environment. For example, older children vote for which story they want to read. Younger children play 'what's in the bag?' to choose which nursery rhymes they wish to learn.

Children are respectful of others and eager to talk about what makes us different. They are extremely inquisitive and learn through meaningful conversations and new experiences which enhance their thinking skills. Children develop a secure understanding of the world. They feed and care for their pet chickens and collect the eggs.

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

• Children settle extremely well and make excellent progress in their learning because staff are proactive in evaluating children's starting points and focusing on their emotional well-being. Staff constantly reflect on routines and settling-in procedures in partnership with parents. Children in pre-school have a real sense of belonging. They draw a self-representation and display it on a group board, giving them confidence as part of a team.
• Staff are highly skilled and work extremely well as a team. They display high levels of consideration for children's welfare. Staff work proficiently together to create a smooth routine. Leaders and staff communicate extremely well with each other and actively contribute to each other's learning and success. Leaders value the use of mentors to assist the less experienced staff, to help them progress in their personal development.
• Children's experiences at nursery are carefully planned. Children's key persons have outstanding knowledge of child development and recognise the importance of sequenced learning. As a result, children are fully engaged in their environment and make rapid progress from their starting points. For example, when babies begin to 'cruise', their key persons plan opportunities for them to strengthen their leg muscles and develop balance. They purposefully place toys of interest across the unit tops to encourage babies to reach for the toys and gain confidence in their balance.
• Teaching significantly enhances children's communication, language and literacy development. Young children hear many different emotions and expressive sounds as they enjoy a story. They copy sounds and hear new words. Babies strum a toy electric guitar while key persons sing familiar nursery rhymes. Pre-school children go on a 'bear hunt' outside in their forest area. Older children are extremely confident to recap their learning experiences and discuss familiar stories spontaneously.
• Partnership with parents is superb. Leaders and staff see parents as key educators in shaping children's individual learning. Parents are exceptionally pleased with the progress their children make. They show delight when discussing the 'learning bags' which are sent home weekly and are specifically tailored to each individual child's developmental next steps. This ensures all children have the best outcomes for learning, including those children who speak English as an additional language and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Leaders and staff work collaboratively with other professionals and with other settings that the children also attend. Key persons visit other nurseries to observe children in a different environment. They confidently reflect on their own environment, which has an impact on children's experiences. For example, when children show a preference for learning through curiosity, leaders evaluate and adopt a new method of teaching within an already very rich curriculum.
• Since the last inspection, leaders continue to excel in their performance management. Utmost priority is given to providing training opportunities for staff, which further enhances continuous professional development. Leaders are highly innovative in developing competitive attitudes among the staff to drive improvement. For example, staff take part in a 'training course of the month', which leaders select. Those who complete the course benefit from incentives which enhance their working environment.