The Meadows Nursery School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy, settled and confident at the nursery. They show that they feel safe and secure within their environment as they confidently leave parents and enter their rooms. Children establish close relationships with their key person. For instance, the younger children find their key person when they require cuddles before their nap times. This supports their emotional security.

Children enjoy exploring the secure outdoor area and practise their gross-motor skills as they climb, crawl, and run freely around the large, decked area. They giggle as their friends chase them. Staff engage well with children as they encourage them to build bridges with large blocks and drive tricycles through the gap. There are ample opportunities to engage with the natural world. For example, one child expressed a fascination at the fallen leaves, stuck on netting, as another child explored what could be found in the dirt. Staff model good language and communication skills to children to support their speech development as they play.

Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour and learning. Children behave very well. They are thoughtful and caring towards their friends. For instance, children skilfully pour cups of water or milk, and ask their friends if they would like a drink. Children use good manners and are developing positive attitudes to learning.

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

• Staff offer constant praise, encouragement and reassurance as children play. They get down to the children's level and talk calmly as they reinforce turn taking and playing cooperatively together. Staff's kind and nurturing approach supports children in effective ways to enhance their well-being. They know the children very well and are incredibly sensitive to children's emotional needs.
• Routine activities enable children to develop and enhance their speech and language skills. They join in with a variety of songs and rhymes as they go about their day. However, children's mathematical learning may be developed further by providing activities to support and extend the children's knowledge of number, counting and shape.
• Staff use what they know about children to plan a wide range of activities that support children to develop new skills and knowledge. However, children are not always given opportunities to explore their ideas and experiment for themselves. This limits children's independence and their ability to make choices.
• Parents could not praise the staff any higher. Several comment on how lucky they feel to have found this nursery and juggle their work so that their child can remain here. Parents praise the staff team and comment on how much their children enjoy attending. Key persons communicate well with parents, sharing photos and information. There are regular opportunities for parents to talk to staff face to face or via the nursery app. This provides them with ideas and information on what they can do to extend and continue learning at home.
• The manager effectively monitors children's progress. This helps her to identify any gaps in their learning. She provides swift intervention when children need extra help. Training has been undertaken to support specific needs of children at the setting. The manager works with other professionals to ensure activities are adapted to ensure inclusion.
• Children take part in activities that build on their existing knowledge. For example, children use chalks inside and outdoors to make marks and attempt letter formation. They enjoy sharing a range of books with adults. Staff ask a range of questions, which children answer confidently. When some children reply, their speech is sometimes unclear and difficult to understand. Staff reflect back to the children the correct pronunciation of the words they have said, to help them to develop their spoken English.
• The manager places a strong focus on supporting staff in their professional development. She ensures that all staff have access to ongoing training to develop their knowledge and skills. The manager is passionate, knowledgeable and ambitious.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen the support for children to further develop their understanding of mathematics, with particular reference to number, counting and shape
• improve the opportunities for children to explore and discover, to support them to become independent learners