The Wendy House

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children access a homely environment which is well resourced to support learning. They arrive happily and settle well. Children enjoy playing with their friends. For example, they role play a boat trip with each child taking a different role. Children benefit from warm and caring relationships with staff who know them well, and they will look for support and comfort as needed. All children access a well-planned and appropriate curriculum, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Children are curious and explore enthusiastically. They make choices from the activities staff plan for them around regular themes. For instance, they roll their toy cars down ramps and delight as they drop off the end and splash in water. Children enjoy books and stories either alone or read by staff. Children concentrate well and spend extended periods focusing on different aspects of their play. For example, they enjoy exploring paint and other materials to create sunflower pictures. Younger children delight in investigating different sensory materials, such as cornflour and water. Children behave well and understand the expectations for behaviour and nursery routines. As necessary, they receive gentle reminders from staff and support to understand the implications of their actions on others. As a result, children learn appropriate behaviours and good social skills.

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

• Managers have worked hard to make improvements since the last inspection. They have sought support and advice from the local authority regarding the changes that needed to be made. Consequently, the quality of care and education at the nursery has risen significantly.
• Managers and staff have a clear picture of what they want children to learn. They design activities and experiences to enrich what children already know and can do. They plan carefully according to each child's individual needs. As a result, all children make good progress and are ready for the next stage in their learning.
• Communication and language are a strong focus in the nursery. On the whole, staff support language development well. They introduce new words and encourage children's speech. The nursery curriculum includes the use of singing and rhymes to support the development and understanding of language even further. However, staff do not ensure that children receive these opportunities on a regular basis.
• Vulnerable and disadvantaged children receive good support for their learning and well-being. Additional funding is spent appropriately to further enhance opportunities for all children. However, staff do not consistently use planned interactions effectively, such as visual aids, to support children to communicate and express their feelings.
• Staff ensure that children spend as much time as possible outdoors. Children have many opportunities to develop their physical skills. Staff provide younger children with resources to enable them to cruise and pull themselves to standing. Additionally, there are various parts of the garden where older children are able to climb. They also build assault courses to practise balancing. This enables them to learn to take risks in a safe place.
• Good arrangements are in place for the provision of food and drink and for teaching children about healthy choices. Children are able to access drinking water at all times to support their good health. However, staff do not always encourage children to independently make choices at mealtimes. Additionally, they do not continually consider the hygiene implications of where children sit for snack or of placing children's lunch boxes on the floor.
• Managers have effective systems in place to develop staff practice. They offer regular opportunities for staff to meet on a one-to-one basis. They use these meetings to discuss any concerns about children and reflect on individual skills. Additionally, staff are able to access regular training to further develop their knowledge. As a result, the quality of teaching and interactions children receive is strong and supports their learning well.
• Partnerships with parents and other agencies are strong. Regular liaison ensures that children's needs are understood and met. Staff support home learning well through the sharing of activity ideas and the use of the lending library. Parents speak highly of the setting and value the support staff offer to help children settle and also to prepare for the move to school.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to implement the intended curriculum for communication and language more consistently, to further enhance children's skills
• monitor the use of additional funding more closely, to ensure that staff consistently use agreed resources and interactions to enhance children's experiences
• review staff practice at mealtimes, to ensure that they support children's independent choices and consider any hygiene risks effectively.