The Meadows Nursery School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children and their families are welcomed by smiling staff at this happy, homely nursery. Children delight in seeing familiar staff and are eager to enter. Children settle well to explore the activities set up for them. Younger children enjoy joining in with rhymes, engrossed in watching adults encourage them with puppets. This supports their listening and attention skills effectively. Staff promote children's interest in stories well. Older children enjoy exploring porridge oats, and they talk about the different-sized quantities. Staff encourage them to recall the story of 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears' that they recently shared. This successfully supports their literacy and mathematical skills.

Staff promote children's positive attitudes to learning by frequently praising them. Children play well together. Where children need support, staff are swift to help them to find a positive solution, such as using the sand timers to share the toys. This supports children's social skills well. Staff plan an interesting and motivating curriculum. They successfully prioritise supporting children's emotional well-being. Children of all ages learn how to express and manage their feelings by exploring the story of the 'Colour Monster'. Younger children use puppets to help them to understand how they are feeling. Older children spend time painting different feelings and talking about what they can do if they feel angry or sad. This supports children's emotional understanding effectively.

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

• Staff use what they know about children to plan activities to support their understanding of the wider world. For example, older children enjoy playing with a doctor's kit together and talking about what happens at hospital. Children engage in interesting discussions about having new babies in the family. This supports their understanding of key events happening in their own lives.
• Staff promote children's independence well. Younger children are encouraged to find their coats and shoes when getting ready to go outside. Older children climb the stairs themselves, holding onto the hand rail to keep themselves safe. Staff encourage them to fasten their own shoelaces. This helps children to do things for themselves.
• Staff use children's interests to plan experiences that motivate them. Staff provide a range of bowls and spoons to support children to count different amounts. However, at times, staff miss opportunities to support children to count on. This means that, particularly for older children, they do not always have opportunities to count further, to support their mathematical knowledge.
• Children benefit from the support of staff, who encourage their love of reading. Children enjoy cuddling up to adults to share stories. However, at times, staff ask children questions but do not wait long enough for children to answer. When this occurs, children do not have the time they need to reflect on what they know and have learned, to formulate their responses. Staff have created a story space where children choose books to take home to share with their families.
• Children who speak English as an additional language are well supported. Staff have learned words in different languages to help children settle in. Children help their friends to find the word for 'play' in English to help them understand that they want them to join in. This helps children to feel included.
• Leaders and managers are passionate and proactive. They have effective relationships with external agencies to provide support for children and families. Leaders and managers use additional funding to provide resources such as healthy lunch boxes. They seek effective support from the wider organisation to share expertise. They have exciting plans for the future, including to support community projects.
• Staff are well supported in their roles. They benefit from regular opportunities to talk about their practice. They say they love working at the setting and feel very supported. Staff appreciate the focus on their well-being and talk of the setting as 'like a family'.
• Communication and relationships with parents are strong. Parents report that they feel valued. They appreciate the support they receive for themselves and to support their children's learning at home. Parents talk highly of their children's learning books that they receive. One parent commented that their child specifically enjoys the calm and sociable mealtimes.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to identify when they can offer further challenge and extend learning further during activities, with a particular focus on older children
• encourage staff to give children more time to respond when asked questions, to support their thinking and language skills.