Thrive Weston Village

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive at nursery with big smiles on their faces. They are greeted by warm, friendly staff at the door. This helps children to feel content, safe and secure. Children confidently leave their parents and settle to play quickly with their friends. They are happy and behave well.

Children form good attachments with their key person and other adults in their room. They make independent choices of what they want to play with from the exciting resources that are set out for them. Babies squeal with delight as they explore flour and dough. Toddlers show excitement as they catch toy fish in the water play. Pre-school children are curious as they mix paint to see what colours they can make. Staff support children's physical skills well. Pre-school children engage in completing a daily mile every day. They have great fun in the outdoor environment, riding bicycles, acting on the stage and telling stories on the storytelling chair.

Children's interests are planned for through play-based activities, such as water play, small-world animals, wooden train tracks and bird spotting, which helps to motivate and excite them to learn. Staff have identified that the COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on children's social skills. As a result, children benefit from focused group times to develop turn-taking and sharing.

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

• The manager designs an ambitious curriculum based around children's interests to engage children in their learning. Staff incorporate all areas of learning through carefully planned activities. For example, children enjoy playing in the water play, singing, counting and catching toy fish. This motivates children, helps to build their self-esteem and ensures all children make good progress.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported. Staff have strong links with outside agencies and devise targeted plans of support for each individual child. This ensures they make good progress.
• Outdoor learning is a high priority. Staff provide many rich learning experiences for the children. Children confidently explore the outdoors by digging in the mud kitchen, playing in the den and planting vegetables in the allotment. This helps to support children's coordination, physical development and understanding of the world.
• The nursery staff support children's communication and vocabulary development through teaching them nursery rhymes and singing songs. However, staff do not always ask open-ended questions or consistently model good language effectively, to ensure children make the best possible progress with their language development.
• Routines are well developed across the nursery. Children wait patiently at the table for their food to be brought to them. Toddlers develop the skill of using a spoon to serve their own portion of hummus. However, pre-school children do not develop the skills they need to competently feed themselves using cutlery, in order to prepare them for school.
• Leaders and staff know the children well. They seek information about every child when they start attending the nursery through an 'all about me' booklet. This provides an opportunity for the staff to get to know the children's likes and dislikes to support them effectively. It also ensures that staff gather information on any needs the children may have, such as allergies.
• Parents are very positive about the nursery and the communication they receive from the staff. They value being able to come into the nursery to collect their children at the end of the day. They are happy with the progress their children are making. Parents enjoy attending the community events the nursery hosts, such as the coffee mornings and the stay-and-play sessions. Partnership with parents is a strength of the setting.
• The dedicated manager is passionate about staff training and professional development. They ensure all staff have regular supervision sessions and can access a broad range of training. This supports staff practice and well-being and helps to identify any additional training needs.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• promote children's language and communication skills by consistently modelling vocabulary and asking open-ended questions
• encourage children's independence during mealtimes with regards to supporting and teaching children how to use their cutlery.