The Hyde Nursery Barnet

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children quickly settle into the nursery on arrival each day. Staff warmly greet children with a smile and encourage them to use their named pegs to hang their jackets and bags. This helps to build children's independence skills. When starting at the nursery, children settle quickly as staff reassure and comfort children with gestures and words.

Staff establish children's interests through ongoing conversations with parents and their observations of children in the nursery. They use this information to help children to feel safe and secure, ready to begin their learning. Staff help children to learn routines from a young age within the nursery. This helps children to understand what is happening next and what staff's expectations are. Staff are positive role models. As a result, children have good attitudes to their learning and behave well.

The manager and the staff are ambitious for every child, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, to make good progress. They plan the curriculum around what children need to know next and what engages them. Overall, staff are skilful in adapting their planning each day so that children's learning can be extended based on the activities set up and their responses. As a result, children demonstrate curiosity and a willingness to try.

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

• Leaders want every child to reach their full potential. They provide staff with opportunities to strengthen their teaching practice through regular training and staff meetings. The manager checks in with staff to ensure that their well-being is considered so that teaching standards are maintained. However, occasionally in the baby room, when planning activities, staff do not thoroughly consider how to ensure that children have engaging learning experiences.
• Staff support children, including those who speak English as an additional language, to be confident communicators. They speak to children throughout the day. Children demonstrate confidence in offering their thoughts and ideas. Young children enjoy singing nursery rhymes and begin to follow the actions to the songs. During mealtimes, children and staff talk to one another and share their experiences. Staff extend older children's ideas with new vocabulary, which ignites children's curiosity.
• Children build their independence skills throughout the day. Staff teach children how to remove and put on their clothing. Children sit with their friends at mealtimes and learn how to serve themselves food. Staff give children time to learn this skill through trial and error. Staff encourage children to give things a go. This helps to prepare children for school.
• Children learn through their senses with a range of learning opportunities. Staff provide activities, such as sand and water play, so children can explore textures through touch. On outings, staff encourage children to explore the environment through sight, smell and sounds.
• Leaders support children to learn about their community around them. Children visit the local park and the local care home. Staff support children to learn respect for older people and understand people who live around them. This helps to support children to understand the world they live in.
• Parents speak highly of the nursery. They appreciate the gradual settling-in process, which helps to reassure them that their child is safe and happy. Parents share that the recent introduction of the parent partnership helps them to feel listened to. The manager works with parents to share information, so parents understand their child's learning and care routines.
• Staff promote children's literacy within the nursery, such as through storytelling and independent access to books, which children can explore. Babies listen to stories and demonstrate their enjoyment by showing attention to staff. This helps children to develop a love of reading.
• Staff provide children with opportunities to build on their physical development. Staff provide babies with activities to strengthen their gross motor skills and early walking. Toddlers enjoy using the balance boards in the garden. Staff support pre-school children to confidently learn how to use scissors to create models. However, when children play outside in the garden, the resources in the environment are limited and, occasionally, staff do not think through how to create the best possible learning outcomes.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• seek further professional development opportunities to continue to raise the quality of education to higher levels, particular in the baby room
• strengthen the planning of outside play to ensure that children have a wide range of learning experiences in the garden.