The Park Neighbourhood Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy, settle well and are confident in this inclusive nursery. Staff are kind and calm with children and provide reassurance, as and when needed. Children, including babies, show high levels of engagement in their play. They are all busily engaged in interesting activities. Pre-school children enjoy painting and experiment with mixing colours. Babies explore texture as they happily stand up and play around a tray full of sand. Toddlers use their imagination and build their own animals from play dough.

Staff are good role models. They have high expectations of children's behaviour. All children behave well and learn positive social skills during their time at the nursery. For example, from a young age, they learn to share resources with their peers and use kind hands. Staff interact with children thoughtfully to promote their learning. For instance, toddlers listen carefully to stories. Staff choose books to read that promote positive behaviour among the children. Pre-school children initiate play in the construction area. Staff suggest that they build houses for the characters of one of their favourite stories. Babies show excitement during singing time. Staff provide resources related to the song for children to hold in their hands.

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

• The managers and staff construct an inclusive curriculum that is ambitious for all children in their care, particularly those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They follow children's interests and plan activities in the moment based around these.
• There is good support for children with SEND. The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) monitors children's needs. She liaises with other professionals, who assess the needs of children with SEND, enabling them to reach their full potential.
• Staff work in partnership with parents to find out what their children enjoy. They build on these interests to help capture their curiosity and imagination. Parents' feedback is positive. They speak highly of the nursery and the staff. Parents feel well informed about their children's development through regular communication with staff.
• Staff set up resources linked to the different areas of learning. These equip children with the knowledge and skills they need for their future learning. They offer real tools for older children to use and show them how to handle them safely. Toddlers build their imagination by dressing up and role playing. Babies have access to an indoor climbing unit. This helps them to exercise their muscles and practise different ways of moving. However, staff do not give many opportunities for children to gain an understanding of everyday technology, nor do they support children's problem-solving skills effectively.
• Staff focus on children's language development, particularly those with SEND or those who speak English as an additional language. They model language and use songs and signs. Staff use key words in children's home languages. They use visual prompts and encourage repetition of words.
• Staff want children to develop an understanding of numbers and the relationships between them. However, they do not often incorporate mathematical concepts into the activities children enjoy most. For example, staff do not often introduce numbers during story time or encourage children to use mathematical language during free play.
• Staff encourage children to develop good independence skills. They give children, including babies, the opportunity to make their own play choices. Toddlers wash their hands with soap without much support. Pre-school children chop their fruit for snack with child-friendly knives. Then they pour their own drinks.
• Staff prepare children of all ages for the next stage of their education. Pre-school children join in with a school-readiness programme. They become familiar with aspects of school life, such as physical education. Toddlers join in with circle time activities to practise their listening skills. Babies practise sitting on bigger chairs before they move to the toddler room, where they will have to find a seat independently.
• Children spend time outdoors every day. The nursery has a big garden, separated into different sections, with a range of resources. This helps children of all ages to have fun outdoors at the same time.
• The managers have cultivated great teamwork, and staff feel happy to be part of this team. There is an open-door policy, and staff are welcome to raise any problems or concerns at any time.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• increase opportunities for children to develop an understanding of everyday technology, and support their problem-solving skills
• weave mathematical concepts into the experiences and activities children enjoy most to further develop their overall mathematical skills.