The Long Garden Early Years Centre

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children benefit from interactions with staff who know them well. For example, if children are upset when they arrive, familiar staff provide them with comfort. Children sit on their knee until they feel safe and confident enough to explore and investigate on their own. Children know and follow the routine in the nursery well. They take responsibility for caring for the environment as they help staff to tidy away toys when asked.

Children spend a lot of time outdoors in the garden where they confidently explore the nursery environment and demonstrate that they are active in their learning. They are curious and move freely between activities, selecting things that interest them. Children explore a variety of activities that support their individual interests. For example, younger children enjoy playing with the small-world doll's house. Staff support them to learn new words and skilfully interact with them, modelling words and actions to them.

Children's behaviour is exemplary. Children show extremely high levels of concentration, and they persevere with tasks until they get them right. They show such excitement when staff read stories and sing songs with them. All children take pride in their learning, and they understand the benefits of cooperating with each other. For example, they thank each other for sharing the puzzle pieces and tell staff how 'kind and helpful' their friends are.

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

• Clear intent and implementation of a well-planned and carefully thought-out curriculum have a good impact on the children and their learning and development. Children are curious, inquisitive and highly motivated learners.
• The manager is ambitious and passionate about providing high-quality care and education. She supports staff with regular supervision sessions and training to ensure that they all understand their roles and responsibilities. The manager monitors and reflects on practice and implements changes to make improvements. For example, she recognised the need to introduce visual aids in the setting to support some of the children. This helped the children to develop their language skills.
• Staff have created an inclusive environment which values children's individuality well. They promote children's home languages and invite members of the community into the setting to teach the children about festivals and celebrations. This supports children to learn to respect and value their wider diverse community.
• The manager and staff use outdoor activities as an integral part of learning and development. All children are very active and develop good physical skills. For example, they climb, balance and take risks on the equipment provided. They learn about the natural world as they hunt for bugs, and they use magnifying glasses to take a closer look at what they have found. Staff share books with the children to further support this learning.
• Staff seize every opportunity to use their interactions with children to develop children's knowledge of communication and language. They are quick to build on children's interest and curiosity. Staff skilfully add to and reinforce new vocabulary. However, at times, staff do not always help children to develop their mathematical thinking further. For example, they do not encourage children to count out how many bugs they have found or how many coins they have.
• The manager has high expectations for all children. The manager knows how to use additional funding to ensure that children from disadvantaged backgrounds and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities have access to the curriculum and make good progress from their starting points in learning.
• Children have extremely positive attitudes to learning. They sustain their interest in activities and develop resilience and perseverance in their learning. Children are confident to share and take turns. They play exceptionally well together, often helping each other out with their learning. For example, children offer verbal support and 'helping hands' to each other when some of the children are worried about jumping off the logs. Staff remind children about some nursery rules, teaching and modelling how to have 'kind hands' and making sure that 'listening ears are on'.
• The manager and staff support children to be emotionally ready for their move on to school. They invite teachers into the nursery to see and interact with the older children. This helps children to become familiar with the adults who will be caring for them.
• Parents praise the passionate and dedicated staff team and value the bonds their children have with the staff. Staff work in harmony with parents to best support the children to make good progress and achieve their full potential. Communication between the setting and parents is highly effective.
• The manager leads her staff team very well. She offers staff valuable support and training to extend their professional development. Staff say that the manager supports their well-being effectively.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support children to develop their early mathematical skills and knowledge, paying particular attention to counting skills and using numbers.