The Secret Garden Nursery (Tredworth)

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff provide warm welcomes for children as they arrive at the setting. They have detailed conversations with parents about how children have been at home. All children, even those new to the setting or visiting for settling-in sessions, relax and join in with activities quickly.

Leaders and managers support staff well with training and professional development to ensure that children receive good-quality care and education. Recent courses have helped all staff to plan a well-sequenced curriculum for children. They have adaptations for different ages, abilities and needs. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities or those who are learning to speak English as an additional language, make good progress in their learning.

Babies benefit from a well-planned sensory area. This includes an egg shape that emits different-coloured lights, silvery paper blankets, rattles and resources in different colours and textures. Staff encourage babies well as they explore these resources using all their senses. Toddlers are fascinated by the pretend spiders and ants as they drop them into the water tray. Staff encourage them to try to work out why the ants sink to the bottom, explaining that they are heavier. Older children talk about mixing colours as they paint 'ghost' pictures outdoors. Children work out that adding white paint to the orange and green paints lightens the colour.

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

• Staff focus on developing children's communication and language. Managers and staff are putting in place strategies to include home languages in everyday activities. For example, they plan to include the different words for 'hello' in the morning welcome song. All staff have lanyards with pictures of daily routines and familiar things so children can use these to express their needs. They talk with families and obtain words in children's home languages that they can use in the setting. Staff use signs, sounds, gestures and words to help children understand and interact with others. Children are gaining confidence in talking and expressing themselves.
• Key persons know the children well. They plan experiences that build on what children know and can do. For example, they set up a tray with farm animals and vehicles linked to children's favourite story and television show. Children play with the animals, making links between the name of the animal and the sound it makes. Pre-school children make 'monsters' and 'pizzas' with dough. They add coloured shapes to create scales or food. On occasion, staff do not provide children with the correct information, using different-coloured shapes to represent food items on the pizza, for example.
• Staff provide consistent support for children. They remind younger children to walk indoors and to be kind to their friends, commenting, for example, that they do not want to be chased with the pretend vacuum cleaner. Pre-school staff help children to take turns as they walk along the balance beam. They remind children to use their words rather than push in so that others know what they want to do.
• Partnership with parents is good. Staff invite parents in to talk with them about what children are learning. They regularly share information at handover times about what children have done that day. Parents feel that their children are making good progress, and they value the friendly and professional staff.
• Staff provide plenty of activities for children to learn and engage in. They plan routines in ways that help children make choices about what and how they want to play. However, on occasion, staff are busy with small groups and miss when quieter children want to join in or do something different.
• Staff talk with children about being healthy. They discuss the importance of limiting sugary foods and drinks to ensure that children have healthy teeth. Staff talk with parents about allergies and dietary requirements. They also provide guidance for parents on healthy food options for lunch boxes.
• Managers reflect on the provision and make positive changes. They support staff to develop skills through courses and training. They provide opportunities for children to learn about the community and wider world. Children go on outings to local parks and the 'city farm'. They develop their physical skills and learn about caring for other creatures. Staff make links with other providers and schools. They share information with them to support children's further learning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• ensure that staff are aware of quieter children and provide help to engage them in activities
• ensure that when interacting with children staff provide them with the correct information to help them build on their understanding and learn more.