Tops Copnor

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happily to the nursery. They are greeted by friendly, welcoming staff who help them to settle in to play. Children form close relationships with key staff, which helps them to feel safe and secure. Children freely explore the inviting play environment and access from a range of unique and stimulating resources that are set out.

Baby-room staff provide plenty of activities. Staff know what children need to learn next. They use information from parents and what they see children do at the setting to provide well-thought-out experiences. For example, children's preferred ways of learning are promoted as staff set up resources for children to develop their skills in rolling balls and mixing powdered paint to make gloop. Children have immense fun as they chase the balls along chutes and splash their hands into the mixture. They squeal with delight as they splash themselves and the staff, who fully join in with the activity.

Children follow and understand the setting's rules, with some gentle reminders from staff. They behave well and are incredibly polite. Children are making good progress in their learning. This is due to leaders and staff having high expectations for children's development. Children have great fun learning in the outdoor environment. They splash in puddles, make a dinosaur swamp with sand and rainwater and stamp in the wet sand in the sand pit.

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

• The manager and her team plan a broad and balanced curriculum. They are passionate about children developing essential life skills. Alongside the leadership team, the manager regularly evaluates the setting to identify where improvements can be made to enrich children's learning experiences. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the manager has identified that children have had less opportunity to explore the wider world. Staff ensure children celebrate a range of festivals, to increase their knowledge of diversity and other cultures.
• Staff provide a warm welcome and thorough handover to ensure parents and children feel safe and secure at the setting. Staff communicate in a variety of ways to ensure parents are kept up to date with children's learning and development. Parents speak highly of the setting and the care and education it provides.
• All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and the most vulnerable children, make good progress. The manager and the special educational needs coordinator work well with external agencies and responds to advice quickly. Regular meetings with professionals and parents mean any gaps in learning are identified quickly and additional funding used effectively.
• Staff provide a stimulating environment, which encourages children's good motivation in their play and learning. They build on older children's ideas well. For example, children are encouraged to write their own names, sounding out the letters as they do so. However, occasionally, some staff interactions with children are not focused on extending and challenging all children's learning to a higher level.
• Children have frequent opportunities to be physical. They are taught about making healthy choices. Children choose from a broad range of nutritious foods at snack time, which includes fresh fruit and vegetables. Staff support children to make healthy choices of water or milk to drink. Children get to grow and taste some produce that has been grown in the garden. Lunchtimes are social occasions, where staff model good table manners as they sit with the children.
• Staff model language well. They hold meaningful conversations with children and introduce new vocabulary to build on children's communication and language development. Children of all ages and abilities have opportunities to hear and develop new language.
• Children enjoy a wealth of opportunities and experiences, outside and in all weathers. They enjoy developing their curiosity and imagination skills exploring the large and well-equipped outdoor area. Children spontaneously extend their environment as they self-select equipment to follow their interest in making a track for wheeled toys. Children work extremely harmoniously together to plan how the track will work, adapting the area to accommodate the track as it gets bigger and longer.
• Pre-school children are supported in their preparation for school through activities that support different areas of learning. This includes activities that help prepare children for later learning about letters and the sounds they represent. However, large-group times are not always well organised. Children become easily distracted and the learning is not as rich as during other times of the day.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• make the most of staff interactions with children to offer further challenge and extend children's learning fully
• review the organisation and structure of group times to take into consideration the age ranges and individual needs of the children present, to enhance learning opportunities to the highest level.