The Nursery At Canterbury College

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy, settled and confident at the inviting nursery. They all eagerly join in the activities that are skilfully planned to reflect their individual learning needs. For instance, they grow herbs including rosemary and mint. They mix them with water and herbal tea to make 'potions' that engage their senses. Children independently complete tasks such as putting on their art aprons. Children learn about the importance of healthy eating. They grow produce, such as carrots, which they prepare and eat at snack time. All children develop good physical skills. Younger children use age-appropriate climbing equipment confidently. Older children explore different ways that they can move their bodies, such as doing star jumps and tuck jumps. Children develop good early mathematical skills to support their future learning. Younger children count ducks as they enjoy water play and older children 'catch' numbered fish. They recognise the numbers with confidence. Children explore the natural world. They excitedly look for any insects that may be visiting their bug house and enjoy regular digging and planting activities. Staff use additional funding effectively to meet the individual learning needs of children. For example, they have purchased a summer house to support children's communication skills through their interest in role play.

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

• Staff know each child well and target support to help them reach their full potential. This helps them to gain children's trust and maintain good secure relationships. Children have a good sense of belonging and positive levels of well-being. They enjoy the company of staff. For example, they are excited to paint the staff's nails at their 'nail bar'. Staff sensitively address gender stereotyping. For instance, they skilfully include boys, who show an interest in painting nails but are initially reluctant to join in.
• All staff have recently completed training on how to effectively support children who speak English as an additional language. They show that they have a good understanding of what they have learned, such as by using pictures alongside speech to support children's understanding. For example, staff use simple words with children in their home language, such as 'toilet' in Romanian. All children respond well to staff. They understand and follow instructions. Children respect and understand each other's differences and similarities, including the languages they speak.
• Staff teach children the rules of the nursery and are positive role models. Children are polite and behave well and play well together. For instance, two children 'perform' their dance on a stage. Overall, all children remain engaged in their play and learning opportunities. However, at times, the organisation of the session is not planned well. For example, when a member of staff changes the nappy of a child playing outside, all children have to come indoors. This briefly disrupts their play and learning.
• All staff establish positive and honest relationships with parents. They share information about children's achievements and activities that they have engaged in daily. Staff communicate well with parents and this helps them feel well informed and involved in their children's learning.
• The manager closely monitors the good quality of education and care that staff provide. She regularly observes staff teaching children and gives them helpful feedback to support their future performance. Staff review the activities they provide and evaluate how well they engaged children. They consider what they will do to extend children's interest and learning next time.
• Staff have worked hard as a team to ensure that the setting is hygienic and safe and, overall, have achieved this. However, they do not consistently reinforce children's understanding of following good hygiene rules, such as wiping their nose.
• Staff attend regular and beneficial training. They have recently learned about the different ways to communicate with children. Staff support children to develop good communication skills. For instance, they ask older children thought provoking questions and regularly sing songs with the babies.
• All children have good opportunities to be creative and learn different ways to make marks. For example, they enjoy water colour painting and explore what patterns they can make by rolling eggs in paint.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review and improve the deployment of staff working with the youngest children to minimise disruption in children's play during activities
• encourage staff to be more consistent in supporting children to learn about the importance of good personal hygiene routines.