The Railway Children Gidea Park Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

All children are welcomed into this unique and homely setting. Staff work closely with parents when children start, and staff get to know children and can soon support their needs. They develop strong and nurturing relationships with the children. Children flourish as they enjoy the home-from-home setting. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the manager kept the setting open to support the needs of the children and their families. Parents queue in a line away from the entrance door, and enter one at a time. The nursery adapts the routines of the provision to ensure children's well-being is supported. Parents value the care the nursery gives, and say that 'the staff are all amazing'. Children develop very trusting bonds with all the staff, who are very friendly and supportive.

Children are enthusiastic and join in with activities. Staff enrich children's love of learning through first-hand opportunities and experiences. Children go on regular walks each week, and attend outings. For instance, they have visited the London Aquarium, the Natural History Museum, the farm and the forest. This promotes their knowledge and understanding of the world. Children collect leaves and conkers, and explore the textures back at the nursery. They consider whether conkers look like coconuts, when they try to describe them. Staff describe 'hedgehogs' to children, and use words such as, 'sharp' and 'prickle'. They explain that hedgehogs prefer to sleep in the day, and children repeat the word 'nocturnal'. Children are very happy in this setting.

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

• Parents are happy with the relaxed atmosphere that the manager and staff create. They praise the staff for their caring attitudes and for the family ethos of the learning environment. Parents say that staff know their children very well.
• Children make good progress from their starting points. They are working at a level typical for their age, and gain the key skills needed for their development. However, at times, staff miss opportunities to further extend their learning.
• Babies benefit from a cosy and stimulating play environment. They are happy, settled and keen to learn. Staff are sensitive to their needs, which fosters security and emotional well-being for the babies. Before sleep time, babies are given a bottle of warm milk, and are checked regularly while they sleep.
• Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour and conduct. They have embedded the rules of the setting, and children play well together, sharing resources and toys. Children enjoy using various colours as they create paintings, and ask if they can take them home to show their family.
• The established key-person system helps to ensure that children are happy and settled. Children have good levels of concentration and form close friendships with their peers. They work as a team in the construction area, and search for cars to roll down the large wooden ramp.
• The manager uses staff meetings to set group targets. They plan learning around children's development. However, systems for evaluating the quality of education need to be strengthened so that children's interests are always at the heart of the activities.
• Good hygiene procedures are in place. Children wash their hands, and explain why they need to do so. They enjoy eating nutritious food at mealtimes. Children use their fine motor skills to try to cut a pea in half, then observe the pea roll off the dinner table and say 'gone'. Staff talk about foods which keep their teeth healthy and their bodies strong. Children voice their opinions about the best foods to eat, such as yoghurt, water and milk. However, on occasions, children's independence skills are not routinely promoted during their daily routines, for example.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities thrive in this inclusive setting. Staff skilfully adapt activities, deploy specialist resources and attend training to ensure all children are fully included.
• The manager adopts a planned curriculum, and promotes mathematical learning experiences. For example, children benefit from a meaningful counting activity, where they enjoy discussing and learning about butterflies. Children then count the parts of the butterfly's body. They now know that a butterfly has two pairs of wings, two eyes and two feelers. Some children go on to make comparisons of their shapes.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• ensure that teaching focuses routinely around children's interests
• strengthen children's independence skills more consistently, for instance when putting on their coats, during daily routines and at mealtimes.