Townley House Independent Nursery School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happy at the setting. They are eager to get inside and join their friends. The children participate in a morning circle time to welcome them into the setting. This gives children an opportunity to explore daily emotions and share experiences with their peers. Staff promote children's well-being through stories and activities that make links to their emotions. The curriculum is well planned and has a focus on personal and social development for all children. This helps children to settle and create secure bonds in the setting.

The staff support children's mathematical skills effectively, providing sticky tape and wrapping paper in the role-play area. Children delight in wrapping various-sized boxes, while staff engage them with language related to size and length.

Staff uphold high expectations for children's behaviour, fostering positive conduct among them. Children work together with their peers, enjoying the process of building models and structures. Furthermore, staff provide healthy snacks and motivate children to try new fruits and vegetables. This method teaches children how to create a healthy, balanced diet for their future.

The newly appointed team has high ambitions for all children. It has supportive relationships with children and their families. This supports children to make progress and feel secure in the setting.

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

• The provider has established a new team within the setting. Leaders identify areas for improvement within the team. However, feedback is not always specific enough and staff are not given individual targets to make improvements to their teaching.
• Overall, staff are supported well through effective induction procedures. However, leaders tend to rely on staff reading policies to obtain a secure understanding of procedures to follow. They do not always check staff fully comprehend and ensure they have a clear understanding of their responsibilities.
• The provider creates a balanced curriculum that focuses on building of children's current knowledge. Staff know what children's next steps in learning are and plan the environment to support this. For example, staff incorporate numbered elves onto the building blocks. This provides children with fun ways of learning numbers in sequence.
• Mathematics is securely embedded throughout the curriculum. Children are provided with many different opportunities to learn about numbers, shapes and colours. Consequently, the youngest of children are learning to count confidently in sequence.
• Staff assist children in enhancing their communication skills by fostering a love for reading. They read to the children with enthusiasm and emotion, which aids in expanding their vocabulary. Additionally, staff pose effective questions to prompt children to remember events from the story, further improving their attention and recall abilities.
• Parent partnerships are thriving. Families express great appreciation for the setting, especially praising the newly appointed team. The lending library has motivated children to read at home effectively. Parents describe the staff as a 'close-knit family' and emphasise the vital roles they play in their children's development.
• Staff and children establish strong bonds, with children often approaching staff to share their creations. They engage in activities together, such as crafting play dough figures, which fosters meaningful interactions. This approach allows staff to gain a deeper understanding of the children, enabling them to plan effectively for their developmental next steps. Consequently, staff become well acquainted with each child.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• provide staff with individual targets to improve their teaching and continue to raise the quality of teaching
• strengthen procedures to check staff's understanding of key policies and procedures, particularly during induction.