The Leighs Nursery Group

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enter the nursery excitedly, find their name on the self-registration board and part form their parents and carers with ease. They wave their parents a jolly goodbye before skipping into the hall where they register their presence. Children confidently place their belongings in their individual large bucket and begin their busy day of learning. Children start each session at nursery with a large group activity. They proficiently answer their name to whichever member of staff calls the register, count how many children are present and talk about the nursery's rules and boundaries. Children develop a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe. They help staff to risk assess the outdoor play space and know that the laminated red triangle signs placed on doors and the stage mean that these are areas that they do not enter.

Children behave well. They are caring and considerate of each other. They understand how to share the toys and resources and to wait for their turn when playing games. Children's good and positive behaviour is rewarded by staff. They celebrate children's achievements by adding a new link to the 'Team day of the week' board. The aim each day is for children to work together and cooperate to earn enough links to reach the floor by the end of that day. Children are encouraged to express their feelings and share their thoughts. They speak to staff about how they are feeling and use the emotions visual prompts to help them to do this.

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

• During the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, when the nursery was only open to some children due to COVID-19 restrictions, staff and managers supported families who could not attend the nursery. They kept in regular contact with them and provided home-learning activities for parents to do with their children. When staff and children returned to the nursery, following this period, they reassessed the children's needs and focused their attention on helping children to re-adjust to social situations.
• Partnerships with parents are very good. Parents speak highly of the staff and managers. They share that their children make good progress and thoroughly enjoy their nursery experience. Partnerships with staff at other settings that children attend are strong, creating good opportunities for key persons to share relevant information about the children's learning.
• The staff team is strong and consistent, and many of the staff have worked together for a number of years. They understand their general and daily roles and responsibilities and work effectively as a team.
• Children articulate their feelings well. Staff speak to them in a clear way. They ask questions that help children to think about what they are doing and extend their learning.
• Children learn about keeping healthy. They frequently make use of the hygiene stations, where they collect tissues to wipe their nose and know that they should then wash their hands or apply hand sanitiser. They confidently tell adults that this means they 'wash the germs away'. Children develop their knowledge of oral hygiene as they practise brushing the teeth on a model of the mouth and use dentistry equipment to familiarise themselves with visiting the dentist.
• Staff plan and organise activities that build on children's prior learning. Children receiving birthday cards through the post prompts staff to organise one of the role-play areas as a post office. Children excitedly write letters with staff and place them in the post box. Staff encourage new language and vocabulary as they sit with the children and support them to think about what to write in their letters.
• Visitors come into the nursery to speak to the children about their jobs, including a vet and a dentist. However, staff do not currently make use of the local and surrounding areas to enhance children's learning further. They do not provide children with rich experiences that help them to explore communities outside of their own.
• Children are provided with some opportunities to develop independence. For example, they practise putting their outdoor shoes and coats on when they move from the hall to play and learn outdoors. However, there are few opportunities for these skills to be promoted at other times during the nursery day. For example, children do not help in the preparation and organisation of snack and mealtimes.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• further enhance the opportunities provided to children to help them to learn about communities outside of their own
• build better opportunities for children to gain and further develop their independence skills.