Treetops Vicar Water

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

From the moment the children arrive at this well-organised, high-quality nursery, they know that their day is going to be full of fun and excitement. They rush to their room with such eagerness that they forget to say 'goodbye' to their grown ups, who comment that their children are more excited to see their friends and staff. Babies are eager to take part in song times with staff. As staff begin to sing, babies make their way to the carpet, babbling, swaying and bouncing to the sound with joy. They choose large and exciting props for themselves from the song basket. The children demonstrate that they feel extremely safe and secure in the staff's warm and nurturing care. The babies smile, make noises and snuggle into staff members for comfort.

Older children become deeply engrossed in a wealth of captivating and highly challenging activities and experiences which staff expertly plan in detail. They show high levels of concentration as they search for bugs outside. When they find a bug, they decide together what it could be, saying: 'I think it's a water boatman because of its hard shell.' They use information books to search for pictures to compare. Children demonstrate their extensive and very impressive language skills as they talk among themselves about different bugs, saying such things as: 'There is no water here so it must be a woodlouse, we need to search for a fact.' They independently create pictures and label their bug drawings, sounding out the words they need and forming the letters. They inform staff that they are making a 'fact file'. Children make exceptional progress and start school with an abundance of knowledge and skills.

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

• Staff provide amazing opportunities for all children to participate in the rich, varied and imaginative learning experiences throughout the nursery. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities thrive at the nursery. All children have a wonderful connection to their key person, and staff know the individual children exceptionally well. Children have high expectations of their own capabilities.
• Staff plan an inspiring curriculum which is informed by their meticulous observations, assessments and wealth of experience and knowledge. They use inventive ways to ignite children's thirst for learning and maximise spontaneous learning opportunities. For example, during imaginative play, children pack a suitcase for a holiday and this extends to them exploring what passports are used for. Staff talk about passports being needed to travel to different countries. Children consolidate, saying: 'I need a passport to visit the continent of Africa, to visit the elephants and hippos,' linking to previous learning about animals and where they live. They continue, 'It is hot there so I would need sun cream for protection.'
• The nursery benefits greatly from a well-qualified and experienced manager. She is highly motivated, inspiring and passionate about providing all children with the very best start. Her enthusiasm is infectious and the manager and staff work together extremely well. Children's learning and development are significantly improved by the resulting staff confidence and sense of well-being. The manager and her staff team have reviewed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children's mental health and well-being. Following this, staff provide additional opportunities for children to take part in mindfulness activities to help them relax and refocus.
• Staff naturally weave in plenty of opportunities to extend children's mathematical understanding. For example, as toddlers play in the water, they put stones on a boat and say, 'the boat is going down.' Staff confirm that the boat is sinking because it is heavy. As children put stones on another boat, they report that 'this boat is sinking too,' using the new vocabulary and understanding they have acquired.
• Staff provide excellent opportunities for children to develop superb physical skills and take managed risks in their play. Pre-school children scream with delight as they slide, in cardboard boxes, down the grass slope in the garden. Toddlers whizz around on balance bikes, lifting their legs as they gain speed. Babies, who have just started walking, negotiate the steps on the slide that they enjoy sliding down.
• Staff reflect on each child's uniqueness through books and visual images. They teach children to understand differences. For example, each child has a book about themselves. This shares the make-up of their family, where they live and their likes and dislikes. As they share these books with each other, they compare the places they live and learn about each other's important home celebrations.
• Partnership working with parents is excellent. Parents report that they would not hesitate to recommend the nursery and say they have on many occasions. They highly praise the regular feedback they receive through the online parent app and say they feel immensely involved in their child's learning journey.