The Life Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are excited to attend this vibrant, richly resourced and highly inclusive nursery. Staff work tirelessly to give children the best start in life and a wealth of knowledge, skills and experiences for future learning. Newer children, still settling in, happily explore a wealth of intriguing tactile media and the sounds they make, such as by tapping utensils against dangling metal pans and lids. They receive cuddles and reassurance from the kind and nurturing staff, whom they continue to build attachments to. This helps children to feel safe and secure. Staff plan a unique and expansive curriculum that broadens children's horizons and helps all children to make excellent progress.

Children are engrossed in the enticing provision. Older children develop wonderful friendships during the vast activities designed to develop their social skills. For example, they develop their imagination skills while playing together in the exploratory kitchen. The highly accessible environment and organisation of daily routines facilitates children's independence skills exceptionally well. Staff are excellent role models. They have high expectations for children's behaviour and expertly use positive strategies. This includes using resources, such as sand timers and those which help children to express and regulate their emotions. This is reflected in children's excellent behaviour. For example, children help to tidy up and place things back where they belong, such as aprons, balance bicycles and safety helmets.

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

• Staff obtain important information during initial home visits to new families. They continually gather wide-ranging information as children settle in. They then meet with parents and carers to discuss their assessments and children's future learning. Parents complete 'home learning' documents to contribute to staff's ongoing assessments.
• Staff swiftly make referrals and implement expansive intervention strategies to support children with delays in their development. They make excellent use of additional funding, in partnership with parents. This accelerates children's learning and helps them to catch up. For example, staff have purchased more challenging outdoor equipment and created a stimulating 'sensory' area with intriguing tactile and visual resources.
• Staff take the highest account of children's interests and home experiences. For example, children who love being outdoors and those with limited access to outdoor space benefit immensely from free access to the exciting nursery garden.
• Staff enrich children's understanding of the world through experiences, such as observing the life cycle of the chick and interactive animal workshops. They create photo booklets and learning tools to introduce a new topic or spark children's curiosity and recall of events. For example, after a visit from the police, staff set up a display around a clear container filled with interesting objects. This stimulates children's curiosity and encourages exploration, observation and discussion.
• Children have exceptional opportunities to develop their stability and coordination. Older children clamber over the wooden climbing wall and use 'wobble' boards. They walk across planks which they place strategically across tyres, large empty reels and crates. Younger children use large circular motions with paintbrushes and water and propel wheeled toys. Staff have plans to introduce yoga sessions for children.
• Children develop excellent small-muscle strength and hand-eye coordination in readiness for early writing. For example, children pour their own water from jugs in the 'hydration station' and older children fill up measuring cylinders with great precision. Staff use these experiences to support children's early mathematical skills. Younger children prod, stretch and poke dough, pour water down guttering and use wide-ranging scooping resources.
• Staff use stories and fun activities, such as using silky shaving foam, toothbrushes and model teeth, to help children to learn about good oral health. The nursery takes part in their local authority's toothbrushing programme and has introduced children to brushing their teeth in the nursery.
• Staff create an environment that is rich in language and promotes children's love of songs and stories wonderfully. They create captivating book areas and use inventive homemade props. These bring stories to life and help children to retell these with staff, such as that about a hungry caterpillar. Children take books home from the nursery's library.
• Parents are exceptionally well informed about, and inspired to support, children's learning. For example, staff provide activity ideas and plan events, such as 'advice' evenings and stay-and-play, song and story sessions.
• Children have rich opportunities to learn about difference. Staff reflect the diversity of families through a vast array of images, photos and role-play resources. Children learn about everyone's special celebrations. Staff encourage parents and staff to share multicultural traditions as part of this.
• Leaders have expansive and inclusive self-evaluation systems. There is an excellent investment in staff's well-being and professional growth and development. This is reflected in staff's high quality and motivating interactions.