Union Grove Community Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and content at this welcoming and inclusive nursery. They arrive excitedly and settle in confidently and quickly, helped by staff who know them well. Children develop warm relationships with kind staff. This helps children to feel safe and secure. Staff respond sensitively to children, which supports children's emotional well-being. Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour. They consistently remind children to use kind words, listen to others and follow routines. As a result, children understand the importance of positive behaviour in their play and learning.

Leaders have a clear understanding of what they want children to be able to know and do. They focus on skills children will need, such as putting on their own coats, to help children to prepare for the next stage of learning. Staff gather information about children's likes, dislikes and routines at home to find out how to meet children's needs effectively. They use this information to provide opportunities that spark children's curiosity and support them to develop resilience. For example, older babies use spoons to scoop balls from one container to another. Toddlers piece together puzzles of their own faces. Staff encourage children throughout these activities to persevere and keep on trying. This supports children to become motivated, engaged and develop a positive attitude to their learning.

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

• Leaders of the committee have not provided the required information to Ofsted, such as changes to committee members. However, committee members do not have unsupervised access to children, which limits any impact on children's safety. Leaders are now fully aware of their duty to notify Ofsted of changes to the committee.
• Children benefit from a well-sequenced curriculum that supports their interests. Staff plan learning opportunities that cover all areas of learning. They use observations and assessments of children to identify what they want children to learn next. However, during planned activities, staff do not always focus their teaching sharply enough on these next steps. This means that opportunities to extend children's learning are reduced.
• Leaders know children well and provide them with a broad range of experiences, such as daily walks, ballet and football. They use funding effectively to support all children. Leaders use targeted funding to support small-group or one-to-one interventions for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, as well as specific training for staff. This approach ensures that all children make good progress.
• Staff promote children's physical development through a range of planned and child-led activities. For example, babies and toddlers develop strength by shaking shakers, climbing stairs and exploring sensory tubes. During activities, staff encourage children to try new actions such as pouring from a large bottle when making 'potions'. This helps children to develop strength and coordination.
• Staff help children to enjoy reading through stories, songs and rhymes. Children join in, explore books on their own and talk about what they see. Staff send books home so children can share them with their families. Children develop a love of reading, learn new vocabulary and grow in confidence when talking about stories.
• Children learn to identify their emotions. Staff encourage children to talk about how they feel. They listen carefully and respond sensitively, helping children to understand and manage their emotions. They also help children to recognise how others feel and develop empathy. As a result, children can express themselves and build positive relationships with their peers and staff.
• Staff help children to develop independence through everyday routines. Children wash their hands before snack and pour their own water. Staff provide regular opportunities for cooking. For example, when children bake muffins, they stir, mix and scoop ingredients themselves. Staff support children to gain confidence, practise self-help skills and take pride in what they can do.
• Staff celebrate diversity and cultural differences in the nursery. For example, children listen to stories such as 'Anansi the Spider' read in a Jamaican dialect. Staff gather and use key words in children's home languages. This supports all children to feel valued and develop an understanding and respect for different cultures.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to focus their teaching during planned activities on what children need to learn next to extend their learning further.