The Angel Nursery Community Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are highly enthusiastic learners, who love coming to nursery. They are extremely happy and demonstrate high levels of emotional security, confidence and self-esteem. Children's interests and love for learning are at the heart of every decision staff make. Children thoroughly enjoy exploring the ambitious curriculum in the carefully planned environment. This particularly supports those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). All children make excellent progress from their starting points. They make independent choices from highly motivating activities that capture their curiosity for learning. For example, children are intrigued by the lights linked to a mark-making activity to engage them. They are completely involved in play and learning, consistently smiling and laughing together. For example, children eagerly join in as they look at and care for the nursery's African snails. They smile and giggle with excitement and they relish the praise they receive from staff. Children confidently talk about their learning using rich vocabulary.

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

• Staff are highly skilled and knowledgeable and demonstrate a deep understanding of how children learn. They understand the importance of ensuring that all children receive a broad and balanced curriculum, containing a wide variety of experiences based on their differing needs and abilities. They plan and implement an exemplary, sequenced curriculum based on children's interests, regular research projects, and children's outcomes. All children make outstanding progress in relation to their starting points, including children with SEND and those from disadvantaged backgrounds. For example, children enthusiastically investigate, share ideas and predict as they make food and baby milk for the dolls in the role-play area.
• Staff are exceptionally skilled at developing children's communication and language skills. They use a range of strategies to support children's language, including talking clearly and giving children plenty of time to practise speaking. Staff listen and repeat any words that children say with Makaton signs for those at earlier stages of their development. For children who are non-verbal, staff use objects or pictures to help them to communicate. Their high-quality interactions and inspiring conversations help to develop children's vocabulary and confidence in speaking very well. For example, children eagerly share ideas and make predictions as they make slime.
• Children thoroughly enjoy their learning and show a keenness to explore and discover. They develop a love of literature and know how to handle books. They are excited to listen and join in with stories. Staff encourage and ignite their imaginations as children confidently join in with familiar stories and predict what will happen next. Staff skilfully ask children questions during the book, linking what they are reading to their own feelings. Young children become immersed in the stories staff read to them. Older children develop high levels of confidence to lead these reading sessions themselves.
• Staff strive to provide children with rich experiences to ignite curiosity and discussion to help them to understand about the world and the people who live in it. Children actively enjoy taking part in gardening activities, planting herbs and learning to look after the planet as they re-use kitchen equipment to make a music station in the garden area. Children learn about each other's cultural background as they learn to count in friends' home languages and learn songs and listen to stories in languages other than their own.
• The manager and staff build impressive, effective relationships with parents. They get to know them and their children very well. The manager and staff engage parents in their child's learning and keep them updated about progress. Parents comment how home learning opportunities are effective in supporting children, particularly the food bags to support children's outcomes. This very strong partnership helps to raise outcomes for children to the highest level.
• The manager implements an extensive, highly effective system to support staff to further develop their knowledge and skills. Staff have opportunities to become 'champions' in various initiatives of the nursery. Recently, staff have improved their knowledge of sustainability and how to support children to re-use resources. Staff and children join in with 'staying fit', healthy and wellness initiatives. Children help staff to lead sessions and support each other to relax and remain calm. This helps to give staff a broader understanding of how children learn and develop. This impacts extremely well on children's learning.