The Old Fire Station Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Leaders place a strong focus on building children's personal, social and emotional well-being. Staff warmly greet children into the nursery. Children are eager to see their friends and tell staff about their home and family life. Children are listened to and taught how to value, love and respect themselves and others. Children develop strong bonds and trusting relationships with staff. This helps them to settle well, feel safe and secure, and develop a positive attitude towards learning.

Staff provide children with a wide range of learning experiences that promote their overall development. Staff know children well and plan specific activities that target children's learning. All children make good progress from their starting points. Babies and very young children are supported to be independent in their feeding and show good self-help skills in relation to their age. Older children enjoy learning about numbers, quantities and addition through creative activities. For example, children delight in selecting the correct number of items to complete their snowman and understand that they need two more pompoms to add to the six they have to make eight. Leaders understand the importance of supporting children's love for stories, books and fairy tales.

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

• The management team is strong. Leaders support staff to deliver a clear curriculum that prepares children well for their future. The staff team works together well to ensure that children benefit from high-quality care and learning. Children are treated with respect and kept safe. There are good arrangements in place to support their eventual transition to school.
• Managers monitor children's progress closely. They accurately identify where children may need extra support and work closely with parents and other professionals to implement strategies as needed. Managers use additional funding very thoughtfully, always with children's best interests in mind, to ensure their inclusion in the setting and extra-curricular activities.
• In general, children behave well. Staff act as good role models and encourage children's use of good manners. However, children's behaviour is not consistently managed across the nursery. For example, at times, such as mealtimes and during adult-led activities, noise levels become loud and overbearing, and staff do not support children to understand what is expected of them. This does not consistently provide children with an environment that supports their listening and attention skills, and some children become distracted and lose interest.
• Staff value the unique cultural backgrounds and experiences of each child. They celebrate days that are special and provide opportunities for all children to learn about a wide range of cultures other than their own. For example, children learn about Diwali as they make lanterns and visit local theatres to watch early years performances. Children learn about these traditions as staff share stories and promote discussions about recognising and celebrating the similarities and differences between themselves and others.
• Parents speak very positively about the nursery. They say staff are kind and caring, and they feel completely confident that their children are happy and kept safe. Staff share a range of information with parents, including daily activities and children's overall progress. Staff suggest ideas for learning and development at home, and parents comment on how positively this has been used to continue learning, particularly in relation to children's personal, social and emotional development.
• The management team is extremely reflective and has worked hard to meet actions set at the last visit. In addition, managers are working proactively with others, such as the local authority and parents, to improve further the nursery experience for children. For example, managers have creatively used additional resources to purchase children's technology for them to record their own learning, and they have reviewed safeguarding and the use of technology policies to ensure children's welfare and development.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to communicate clear expectations for children's behaviour to help them understand what is expected of them and to create a calm environment for learning.