Thorpe Nursery Preschool Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children of all ages and abilities are settled, confident and happy during their time at the welcoming nursery. Children happily tell others, 'I have lots of fun at nursery.' Staff demonstrate a good knowledge of how to successfully implement their curriculum. They carefully think about what activities and experiences to provide to help children remain interested to learn. For example, as they read books about dinosaurs, staff teach them the different dinosaur names. Children go on to learn how to make play dough and use the toy dinosaurs to make prints and patterns in their finished product.

Staff teach children about the importance of healthy lifestyles. For instance, they discuss healthy foods during lunchtime. Children choose if they wish to engage in active or quieter activities and have calm places to rest. All children gain good physical skills. For example, they confidently and safely use a wide range of climbing and balancing equipment, such as climbing walls, trees, and tyres. Staff teach children about different cultures and festivals. For example, they talk about the tradition of Eid. Children are confident to communicate their thoughts and ideas. Staff ask children thought-provoking questions and give them time to think and then respond.

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

• The manager and staff establish secure and trusting relationships with children. They get to know their individual personalities and what makes them unique. All children have a positive attitude towards their learning and make good progress. Children are confident and enjoy the company of staff and each other. This is demonstrated when they are excited to play games together and seek out reassurance and hugs from staff.
• All staff fully understand children's individual needs. This includes those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff liaise closely with outside agencies, such as speech and language therapists, to implement helpful techniques, such as simple sign language. Children engage in sensory activities, which help them to feel calm and refocus if they become overwhelmed.
• Overall, children behave well, and staff support them to gain good social skills, such as encouraging them to say please and thank you. Staff recognise and praise good behaviour. However, on occasion, they do not support children to fully understand the consequences of some actions. Therefore, staff do not fully support all children to consistently and thoroughly understand the rules and boundaries in place.
• Overall, children are happy and generally engaged in their learning experiences. However, sometimes staff do not swiftly identify when to step in to support children to further engage and get the most out of their learning opportunities.
• This is particularly evident during larger group activities, such as circle time.
• The manager and staff establish positive partnerships with parents, who speak highly of them. Staff keep them informed about what activities their children have enjoyed participating in. They encourage parents to add children's learning from home and provide a good consistency of care between home and the setting. For example, children are excited to take 'Bertie Bear' home and are keen to share tales of the adventures they have with him, with their friends at the nursery.
• The manager closely monitors the good quality of education and care that staff provide. She regularly observes them teach children and provides them with constructive and helpful feedback. Together, staff routinely evaluate their practice and use their findings to enhance their future activity plans.
• Staff attend regular and beneficial training. They have recently learned about the different ways to support children's well-being. This has helped staff to understand how to help children to regulate their emotions safely and appropriately.
• Staff use additional funding well to meet the individual needs of children. For example, they have used funding to provide more focused and individual time to help children to settle and get the most out of their learning opportunities.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to develop a more consistent approach to helping children understand the reason for the rules and boundaries in place
• strengthen staff's skills in identifying when children would benefit from staff interaction, particularly during large-group time.