UCL Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are welcomed into the nursery by friendly and caring staff. Families are nurtured at the setting, and staff display family photos on the walls for children to look at, helping them to develop a strong sense of belonging. Staff get to know children well, gathering relevant information from parents to support them to settle. For example, children's home languages are recognised and depicted in the environment. The nursery includes all children well. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are particularly well supported.

Leaders and staff have high expectations for all children. They implement a curriculum that focuses on children developing their independence and gaining the skills that they need for the next stages in their learning, such as confidence and social skills. The curriculum is well understood and implemented throughout the nursery. Children are keen and confident to explore the wide range of interesting activities and resources that staff provide for them.

Children are well behaved and demonstrate kind and friendly behaviour towards each other and the staff. All children in the setting make rapid progress from their starting points and are well prepared for the next stage of learning, including school.

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

• Staff plan the curriculum effectively. Staff demonstrate a good understanding of what children need to know and learn next. They use observations to inform their planning and provide activities to help children achieve next steps in their learning. Regular assessments ensure that any gaps are addressed quickly, and that all children make good progress.
• Staff work closely with parents, and other professionals as they oversee the needs and support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff access help through making referrals and putting strategies in place for children to help them make better progress. Leaders work with staff to ensure that additional funding is well targeted to the needs of the children. Children with SEND make good progress from their starting points.
• Staff plan exciting opportunities to develop children's understanding of science, and teaching in this area is strong. Staff help children to build an electrical circuit which lights up a bulb. They talk about the positive and negative ends of the battery and explain what this means in an engaging and simple way. Children learn new scientific language and delight in these activities that focus on early science. They follow staff instructions well and recall words and experiments learned previously.
• Staff say they are fully supported by their leaders, who review their training needs with an emphasis on staff's well-being, home and work/life balance. Leaders are now supporting staff to undertake observations of each other so they can more quickly identify where to improve individual practice.
• Staff successfully help children to develop a love of books. Initiatives such as 'the book of the month' help children develop their understanding of a carefully selected story. Older children remember different parts of the story as they read it together. This helps all children to develop their communication and language skills. Staff read to children in a way that excites and engages them.
• Children learn about poetry. They enjoy listening to and joining in with poetry and rhymes. Children are supported by staff to understand the rhythm and tones of poetry and helped to write their own poems. Staff promote early literacy skills for children well.
• Partnerships with parents are strong and well established. Leaders and staff work closely with children's parents to get to know children's individual needs and experiences so that they can provide the right support for children and their families. Parents say that they are very happy with the care given to their children. Parents share that partnership working is effective and that communication is good.
• The nursery promotes a culture of respect, diversity and inclusion through the staff team, resources, books and activities. Staff celebrate different festivals and welcome parents' participation in sharing their cultural traditions. Many children who attend the nursery speak English as an additional language and are supported by staff to acquire English during their everyday activities.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• continue to monitor and focus on strengthening staff practice to raise the quality of teaching practice to even higher levels.