The Lime Trees

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thrive in the caring and nurturing environment of this nursery. They relish the wide range of experiences on offer. For example, children use their whole bodies to move to music. Staff and children show their delight as they smile and laugh together. Children pretend to be cars and run as they use their coordination skills to navigate the room and each other. The music changes and they pretend to be aeroplanes. Children are confident and know the activity well. They use a range of materials to swirl and twirl. As a result, children develop increased physical skills and have opportunities to express themselves freely.

Children behave extremely well. They understand and follow staff's expectations in the nursery. For example, they know it is tidy-up time when staff shake musical bells. Children involve others and encourage visitors to tidy up too. For example, they give them storage bags to put the activities away. Children are content in their environment. They hum and sing and play happily throughout the day.

Children show increased levels of concentration. For example, they listen intently as staff introduce and talk about new activities. They show great interest and contribute during group time. For instance, when staff read a story about going to a zoo, children help to retell the story using props. Staff extend children's interest in the story. They ask, 'Who was fierce?' and 'Who was grumpy?' The children shout 'the lion' and 'the camel'. This helps children to know and remember more.

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

• Staff have a clear and ambitious overarching curriculum. They implement this using their deep understanding of each child's interests and what they want the children to learn next. For example, they identify that some children enjoy filling and emptying containers. Outside, staff provide lots of containers in the water tray to support this interest. Children are encouraged to fetch large tweezers and use these to develop their small-muscle skills as they carefully pick up pom-poms and fill jars. As children play, staff skilfully introduce lots of linked vocabulary, such as 'scooping', to further children's communication and language.
• Children are highly engaged throughout the day and demonstrate prolonged levels of concentration. For instance, they focus intensely and use their problem-solving skills as they find and use the correct small keys to unlock padlocks. This supports children's dexterity and coordination skills. Children have many opportunities to support their pre-writing skills. For example, they use their large muscles to flick paint and make splatter pictures. They skilfully position themselves when using a knife to cut fruit safely. This develops children's core stability and upper-body movements.
• Staff provide children with many opportunities to build on previous experiences. Children excitedly recall and listen as staff use a range of language to describe children's recent trip to an art gallery. Children rush to join in and help staff to tape drawing paper to the floor to create their own art. Children show high levels of interest and engagement as staff turn the lights off and encourage children to use pens attached to torches to draw and make marks on the paper. When staff turn the lights on, children admire and chat about their creations. Staff extend this learning further by asking children to raise the paper and lie on their backs to draw on the paper overhead.
• Assessment is highly effective. Staff accurately identify and swiftly intervene when children need extra support. Staff recognise the need to focus constantly on developing children's communication and language skills. Additional funding is used for an in-house speech and language therapist, who provides individual support for children and advice for staff. Staff work with children closely to provide focused language groups. They plan activities to help children to produce new sounds and to build the muscles in their mouths. For example, staff and children blow bubbles. Children jump with excitement as they try to catch them. 'Pop, pop, pop', they say. Children make rapid progress from their starting points.
• Parent partnerships are exceptional. Staff offer ongoing feedback and provide advice to support the whole family. They work with local charities to obtain surplus food and make this freely available to families. This reduces food waste and supports children's well-being. Staff help parents to develop children's oral health. For example, they provide toothbrushing packs containing toothpaste, a toothbrush, stickers and an information leaflet to encourage children to brush daily.
• Leaders and managers are incredibly supportive of staff. Staff have access to a free counselling service and a well-being officer. This supports their mental health and overall well-being. The professional development of staff is encouraged and highly valued by leaders and managers. For instance, staff take part in training to promote children's creative expression through physical movement. This helps to support children's all-round holistic development.