The Red Roof Children's Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The leadership team and managers are inspiring. They are passionate about the nursery and they aim to do the very best they can for all children, families and staff. Managers and staff strive to provide very high-quality care to enable children to achieve the best possible outcomes. They place children at the heart of everything they do to ensure their individual needs always come first. Children thrive in this community-based, caring and dedicated nursery.

The leadership team develops a highly ambitious curriculum for all children. Alongside staff, leaders plan engaging activities, which children eagerly join in with. For example, children are very excited to act out performances in the garden on the stage. They retell stories of shows and performances where they practise their personal interests, physical and communication skills. Children thrive in this rich learning environment. The inspiring and ambitious curriculum is well embedded and effective. Leaders and staff provide a wealth of motivating learning experiences to ensure that all children build firm foundations for their future learning.

The individual care and attention for children are inspirational. This includes staff offering tailored support for parents on matters such as healthy eating, oral health, children's behaviour, promoting a love of books and toilet training. Children make remarkable progress, which has a positive effect on their learning and on their home lives too. Staff provide parents with ideas of how they can support their children at home, including through story sacks and activities to follow on at home.

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

• All children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language, make rapid progress from their starting points. They receive excellent support from staff. Managers and staff have an excellent understanding of how to refer children to the right agencies. This helps children get the support and intervention they need. Managers and staff work very closely with parents and other professionals to ensure this happens in a timely way. Parents report that they are delighted with the support given to them and their children, particularly when seeking a diagnosis or applying for an education, health and care plan. This supports children with SEND to achieve the best possible outcomes. Leaders use additional funding highly effectively to support individual needs, for example developing a sensory room for children.
• Managers share their vision and curriculum intentions with staff through meetings and being present in the rooms daily. They have high expectations of staff and children. The curriculum is securely embedded through the nursery. All staff know and understand the curriculum and the intentions for individual children's learning. This enables them to teach effectively and ensure children make rapid progress. Any gaps in learning close swiftly.
• Partnership working is exceptionally strong. Managers and staff build trusting relationships with families. Parents speak with passion about the staff and describe the nursery as being part of their extended family. Parents comment on the excellent communication and say that they feel completely involved in their children's learning. They appreciate that staff do everything possible to ensure their children are happy and safe. They recognise that this united approach helps children to make strong progress.
• Staff provide children with opportunities to develop a love of books, and they read to children throughout the day. Staff discuss their passion to extend children's language and communication skills. They think carefully about the words that they want children to know. They provide fun and interesting ways for children to hear and practise using new vocabulary. For example, when children make marks with water on boards outside, staff talk to them about the water 'evaporating' and the need to keep 'hydrated' in the warm weather. There is a lending library of books and story sacks, which children can take home and share with their parents. Children make very good progress with their communication and language skills.
• Staff know all the children and their families exceptionally well, especially their key children. Staff give children time to think and share their ideas and answers. They skilfully wait so children can think and respond to questions, such as asking what happens next in a story. They adapt their interactions guided by what they know about individual children, for example, giving less-confident children the space they need to engage. Staff strive to do their absolute best to ensure children thrive at nursery.
• There are high expectations of behaviour. Children understand staff's high expectations and their behaviour is exemplary. Children demonstrate their understanding of the rules to follow when they remind each other to use 'kind hands'. Staff model politeness, saying 'please' and 'thank you'. They show great respect for children and each other. Children cooperate well and take turns.
• Children develop a deep understanding of their own uniqueness. Staff provide a safe and nurturing space for them to explore the similarities and differences in their family structures, languages and cultures. Children's home languages are continuously celebrated and valued. Staff encourage children to use these alongside English. Staff learn key words in children's home languages and use these as part of their daily interactions with them.