Toddlers-In Nursery School Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are excited as they arrive at the friendly nursery. The very warm welcome they receive from staff helps them to settle and to begin learning from the outset. Children are keen to talk and share with their friends. For example, they show leaves they have found on the way to nursery. Highly effective interactions from staff encourage children to use more vocabulary and to build on their already excellent speaking skills. Children are keen to take on responsibilities, such as tidying up and preparing for snack. Staff are highly patient with children and give them time to complete their tasks. Children thrive on the positive praise and encouragement they receive.

Children have a wonderful aptitude to learn. They consistently strive to achieve success. Staff give children time to develop their imaginations and be creative. Children turn boxes into unicorns and rainbows. Each child's learning process and final piece of work is unique to them. Staff are skilled at knowing when to help and when to step back as children are completely engrossed in activity. Children's behaviour is excellent. Staff are alert to children's emotions and behaviour. They teach and model the behaviour they expect. This results in children being kind and caring towards each other and adults.

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

• Leaders devise and implement a highly aspiring and well-structured curriculum with great success. Staff have ambitious and clear expectations for children to help them succeed in their learning. They provide activities that are tailored to each child's individual needs and abilities. This helps all children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to make excellent progress.
• Children have a vast number of opportunities to be physically active. Staff use their expertise to plan activities that promote the development of children's small and large muscles. Outside, children have space to run around, balance and dig. At other times, they enjoy walks to the local park, where they follow paths and look for wildlife. Younger children explore how to make toys work, such as by turning small wheels to operate pulleys. Older children use tools with precision as they draw pictures containing small details.
• Staff provide children with a rich set of experiences to learn about others. Children enjoy learning words and singing songs in languages that are important to other children or staff. At other times, children learn that some people use signing to communicate. Staff who are trained in using Makaton teach others how to use this. This helps all children to feel included and actively promotes their communication and language development.
• Partnerships with parents are exceptional. Parents state that children thrive in a stimulating environment and are making excellent progress. Parents who have older children who have moved from the nursery to school say their children were prepared extremely well for their future learning. Parents and carers who have children with SEND or medical needs cannot praise the staff enough for the support they have received.
• The management and staff team are extremely highly qualified and share an immense passion for ongoing learning. The manager has recently completed a PhD in education. She shares her extensive research with all the staff, further deepening their already strong understanding of how children learn and develop. Other staff are undertaking higher qualifications and attend high-quality training, tailored to their individual needs. This ensures excellent teaching and the highest standard of care for all children. Staff report that they feel highly supported by the managers, who care about their well-being and listen to their ideas.
• The manager and staff are passionate about making links with the local community. They meet with staff from other early years settings to offer each other support and to share ideas. They nursery is held in high esteem by the Parish Council, which makes sure the building is safe and suitable for children to use. The manager has recently been asked to use her expertise to support the opening of a new community toddler group.