Thurton Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Upon arrival, children jump up and down with excitement when greeted by the friendly and caring staff, who know them extremely well. Staff value close input from parents, alongside bespoke settling-in processes. This means children and babies settle seamlessly. Babies hold out their arms to initiate hugs with their key person. This shows they feel comfortable and build strong and trusting attachments to them.

Children play, learn and explore in the nursery and enjoy making choices for themselves. They independently select factual books on the recent topic of minibeasts. Children start to gather new facts and information as staff read out the names of more obscure beetles, such as jewel weevil and giraffe weevil. Staff ask questions to help children make sense of the world around them and children listen carefully to the explanations staff give them. This builds on children's existing knowledge and understanding.

Children benefit from many awe-inspiring activities indoors and outdoors, such as 'Woodland Wednesdays', where they have opportunities to explore and learn in the local community's parks and woodland area. Throughout the nursery, staff display photos of children acquiring new skills and celebrating special days with family, such as Mother's Day. This boosts children's self-esteem and contributes to a sense of belonging.

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

• Following a recent incident that was notified to Ofsted, the provider has reviewed their policies and procedures in place. Staff now organise going out into the garden effectively to ensure that children's needs are consistently met. Policies and procedures for keeping children safe are shared with all staff so they understand the processes to follow.
• Staff receive training to help them assess children's progress effectively and plan a vibrant and broad curriculum. Staff know individual children's next steps in learning and plan activities around these alongside children's interests. Consequently, children are making good progress across all areas of learning.
• Regular and in-depth assessments of children's progress, enables staff to promptly seek guidance and help as they notice any gaps in children's learning emerging. The management team and staff work with a range of agencies to complete referrals and put support in place for children who need it. This joined-up working means all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), make good progress from their starting points.
• Leaders and staff implement some strategies to support children's communication skills. They introduce fun activities, such as blowing bubbles, to develop children's facial muscles and support them to form sounds. Staff also use visual communication boards to help children express their opinions and make choices. However, staff do not consistently support children in using these aids and maximise opportunities to promote their communication and language development.
• Babies and children become increasingly skilled at managing self-care routines. Babies gradually learn to use a spoon to feed themselves and young children learn to pour their own drinks at mealtimes. Children feel empowered and beam with pride when succeeding in tasks, such as putting on their own shoes for the first time. This is because genuinely caring staff provide children with encouragement, time and space to practise new skills.
• Overall, children play cooperatively with their peers. Staff use age-appropriate language and model turn taking to help babies and young children independently share popular toys with their peers. Staff praise children's acts of kindness and positive behaviours. This helps reinforce behaviours expected from them. However, at times, staff do not implement these effective teaching strategies well enough to enable older children to fully understand the feelings of others and how their actions can have an impact on them.
• Staff share photos and regular information about children's progress with parents electronically and through verbal discussions. Parents appreciate regular newsletters and invitations to attend parents' evening and stay-and-play sessions. They express how these provide them with more specific information about how their children develop. Parents acknowledge how this means they can further support their child's learning and progress at home.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to consistently implement effective teaching strategies to help all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, extend their speech and language development to an even higher level
• ensure staff consistently implement effective behaviour management strategies to ensure older children develop a strong understanding of appropriate behaviours and the impact their actions can have on others.