Tiptree Preschool Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happy and settle well into the nursery. They separate easily from their parents and carers and become quickly engaged in their learning environment. Children develop affectionate bonds with staff and clearly feel at home in the nursery. Staff are patient, kind and caring. There is a strong atmosphere of care, nurture and love throughout the nursery.

Since the last inspection, leaders have worked closely with outside professionals and have made many positive changes. They have reviewed and adapted the curriculum, which is well thought out and ambitious. There is a stronger focus on supporting children's emotional well-being and planning a wide range of activities that spark children's interests. All children, even those that are new to the setting, settle quickly at an activity and show high levels of involvement. For example, children happily add 'spices' to the 'food' they are preparing in the home corner. Children are keen to show the inspector the real vegetables, such as the potatoes, that they are 'cooking' with. Children remain focused in the construction area as they twist and turn bolts and screws.

Children's behaviour is good. Staff are positive role models to children. They have introduced new 'rules of the nursery' to help children to understand what is expected of them. Staff encourage children to have good manners, say 'please' and 'thank you' and be considerate of each other. They have a strong knowledge of each child's individual needs. This means that staff understand which children may need additional support in managing their emotions and have a wide range of strategies for doing this. This contributes to the calm and gentle atmosphere felt throughout.

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

• All children make good progress from their starting points. Staff liaise with other professionals and follow their advice and use this information to provide targeted support for children. For example, staff now lead social groups and bucket time sessions with children. These activities capture children's fascination a great deal. Children remain highly focused throughout these sessions. They show determination as they blow bubbles carefully and laugh out loud at the funny noises the different resources in the bucket make.
• Partnerships with parents and carers are strong. Parents value the regular updates they receive and recognise the skills children have developed since starting. For example, parents express their gratitude at the support they received with toilet training and comment on how independent their children have become since starting.
• Children benefit from good interactions with staff. Staff repeat and reinforce vocabulary and narrate as children play and explore. During cooking activities, staff introduce children to a range of interesting language as they make their dough, such as 'kneading', 'scooping' and 'rolling'. This helps children to progress in their communication skills.
• Staff are passionate in providing children with as many learning opportunities as possible. However, sometimes, through this enthusiasm, staff offer a lot of suggestions of what might happen next. They do not always follow children's curiosity and ideas consistently. This means children's critical thinking skills and learning are not always as extended as possible.
• Leaders are highly reflective. They constantly evaluate what works well within the setting and what could be improved. Staff closely assess children's development to establish what they already know and can do. They use this information well to identify any emerging gaps and plan for children's next steps. All staff have had countless opportunities to deepen their professional development, which has strengthened the quality of education. Leaders are passionate in their continuous strive for improvement and have made excellent use of the support from other professionals.
• Children show immense joy at spending time outside. They enjoy climbing, balancing and riding bicycles and cars. Children demonstrate strong physical development as they climb up the steps to the slide and roll hoops on their arms. Staff and children laugh and smile as they come together as a group to sing action songs in the playground.
• Overall, the routine throughout the nursery works well. The recently introduced bell and visual prompts help children to have a better understanding of what is happening throughout the day and help prepare them for any transitions. However, some routine activities are not organised as effectively. For example, when children arrive back from their outside activities and get ready for lunch, these transitions become quite rushed and busy. This means that staff do not always have the opportunities to fully support children's learning.
• Children show high levels of self-esteem and independence. They confidently wipe their own noses and put on their own coats and hats when getting ready to go outside. Children are proud when they cut out their biscuits with the cutters. Staff respond with a great deal of praise and celebrate everything children achieve.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• consider how to further support children to develop their critical thinking and problem-solving skills during play
• review the organisation of routine activities, such as mealtimes, to ensure the quality of education is consistent with the rest of the day.