Tinkerbells at the Clock Tower

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are warmly greeted at the nursery door and leave parents confidently and excited to begin their day. Children show increasing independence when they enter by hanging up their own coats and washing their hands before exploring the environment and activities that staff have prepared for them. These skills support children in being prepared for their eventual move to school.

Children gain good physical skills as they experiment with how to move their bodies to cross the obstacle course in the garden. They use their arms to help balance themselves as they cross beams and jump up and down from equipment. Children are keen to use the tricycles and successfully pedal up and down the slopes in the garden laughing with delight as they learn how to pedal to make themselves go faster.

Children demonstrate that they enjoy the learning opportunities provided for them. For example, children are keen to help maintain the wildlife garden and use scissors with increasing control to cut back the dead plants in order to make way for new bulbs to be planted. Staff work alongside children engaging in conversations about the bugs and insects that they find along the way.

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

• The leaders and staff team know the children well. They plan activities that follow the interests of the children. For example, the children are learning about animals and have opportunities during group times to share their current knowledge so future learning can build on what children already know.
• The setting works closely with parents and carers to share information about children and encourage learning at home. Parents are very complimentary of the setting and feel involved. For instance, leaders run a parent forum three times a year where parents have the opportunity to voice ideas and future developments.
• Children are caring towards each other and are learning about how to share resources and wait their turn. However, staff do not consistently help children to be more involved in keeping the indoor environment tidy and safe, for example by encouraging them to help tidy resources before moving to another activity.
• Leaders and staff have recognised that children's speech and language has been impacted by the pandemic. Staff sing and regularly read to the children. However, some staff do not consistently develop children's speech and language during free play. For example, they do not use these opportunities to introduce new vocabulary. This is particularly evident during outdoor learning, as some staff seem to take on more of a supervisory role rather than engaging with the children effectively.
• Staff feel well supported by leaders. They have regular meetings with the manager to discuss key children, well-being and further training requirements. After returning to work after the pandemic, the management team prioritised staff's mental health and well-being. This meant staff felt supported with the transition back to work after periods of closures.
• Staff work effectively with other professionals who are involved in children's care. The setting provides targeted plans for children who need additional support. Leaders can talk about the impact that COVID-19 has had on waiting times for referrals and seek to implement strategies in the setting while children are waiting to be seen.
• Children have the opportunity to learn about the wider world. They go on trips out of the setting to visit the local nature reserve. Children also have their own allotment in the garden where they can learn about growing vegetables. The children tend to them during the year and then take them home to enjoy with their families.
• Children's emotional needs are met well by staff. The key person system is well established, and children know who to go to for support. On the odd occasion that children do become upset, staff are quick to support and reassure children, who then quickly return to play.
• Children use their imagination to bring ideas and games to life. For example, children pretend to be dinosaurs and are heard saying 'I'm going to be the biggest dinosaur in the world'. Children then extended this play by building a nest and using chalks from the garden to be 'dinosaur eggs'.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support children to take more responsibility for their environment and the resources they use, to help them build further on their sense of responsibility and safety
• ensure staff consistently model language and new vocabulary to build on children's communication skills.