Treetops Nursery Easton

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thoroughly enjoy their time at this warm and welcoming nursery. They form close and trusting relationships with staff who take the time to know the children as individuals. Children arrive happily and settle quickly to the exciting activities that staff plan. They demonstrate that they feel safe and secure as they separate happily from their parents and carers. When children are unsettled, staff swiftly offer the reassurance that they need.

Children learn to be friendly and well mannered as they follow the excellent example set by staff. They approach visitors with curiosity, keen to share their interests. Children form lovely friendships and happily invent and act out stories together, building on the ideas that staff introduce, such as travelling in a moon buggy together in response to the topic of space. Children are confident to express their opinions and explore their own ideas as staff listen with interest and help to extend children's thinking.

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) benefit from dedicated and highly personalised support. Staff work closely with families and other agencies to ensure that there is a joined-up approach to children's learning. Consequently, all children make sustained progress in their development and learning.

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

• Leaders and managers are passionate about their nursery. They highly value the contributions of their staff, who report very high levels of well-being. Leaders and managers ensure their staff know that they are valued. Apprentices receive tailored support to ensure that their development is nurtured and they quickly become effective members of the team. Staff turnover is very low, which results in a stable team who offer continuity for the children.
• Staff plan activities around themes, taking into account the interests of children. Activities are thoughtfully resourced to stimulate and engage the children. Staff plan to develop children's knowledge and vocabulary by offering them a wide range of ways to explore topics. When exploring space, they read books about planets, prepare space-themed role play and provide linked activities in all areas. Children are encouraged to share what they know, and staff take this as starting points to build a deeper understanding. Children become experts in the topic and are confident to share what they have learned.
• Leaders and managers have worked hard to engage parents in their children's learning. Parents speak very highly of the staff. Although parents no longer routinely come into the nursery with their children, they say that the key person always makes time to talk to them and discuss their children's learning. Parents of children with SEND are delighted with the progress that their children make and the support they receive.
• Books are carefully positioned in all areas of the nursery and staff read to children often. Children gleefully present books to staff, confident that they will be read to with enthusiasm, and flocks of children gather to enjoy the stories. Staff ensure that children have time to look at the pages and contribute what they know. Children develop a love of books and stories which help to develop their knowledge, imagination and vocabulary.
• Children spend large amounts of time outdoors, including time in the dedicated woodland area. They develop their physical skills as they ride balance bikes, explore the woodland and transport toys. Staff ensure that there are plenty of opportunities for children to practise their early writing skills in preparation for later writing as they provide a range of mark-making opportunities in all areas of the nursery.
• Teaching is mostly of a very high standard, and sometimes exceptional, particularly when staff are interacting with children in planned activities. However, despite extensive monitoring and supervision, leaders and managers have not identified that, very occasionally, staff do not deliver the curriculum intention to the highest level. Staff sometimes miss opportunities to support children's independence skills or support them to learn to regulate their own behaviour. This risks delaying children's readiness for all of the challenges of the next stage in their learning, including school.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• refine the already extensive evaluation and assessment of teaching, to identify how they can further support staff to consistently teach the agreed curriculum, including promoting children's self-care and self-regulation skills, to the highest level.