Victoria Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff provide children with lots of exciting sensory activities that fully engage them and promote their development in all the areas of learning. They are highly focused on encouraging children to be active, curious and self-directed learners. Children play outdoors for extended periods of time throughout the day. Pre-school children become thoroughly absorbed in their play as they make their own concoctions with water, bark, soil and leaves. They paint the trees and walk in and out of the coloured water and examine their own footprints. During such activities, staff support and extend children's learning effectively.

Toddlers enjoy filling and emptying containers with the sand. They make marks with the chalk on the ground. They discover tiny spiders and look at them with awe and wonder. Staff encourage the toddlers to count how many legs the spiders have. Under close supervision, babies poke, squash and flatten dough. During such times, staff provide a running commentary, and they consistently model good speech and language skills throughout the day. This helps all children to develop their language skills.

Staff build strong relationships with children and their families. They know the children well. Children are happy, confident and relaxed. Staff continually model respectful and appropriate behaviours with each other and the children. They successfully support children to follow the simple rules that help to keep them safe and encourage respect for others.

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

• Staff provide a curriculum that follows children's interests and incorporates what they need to learn next. They plan opportunities for children to explore a range of multi-cultural festivals throughout the year. These help children to develop a deeper understanding and appreciation of different lifestyles.
• The manager reflects on the progress of individual and specific groups of children across all areas of their learning. However, staff do not focus strongly enough on encouraging pre-school children to develop their understanding of size, length, weight and capacity.
• Staff support children's literacy development well. For example, staff regularly share stories and sing with the children. They plan activities that help to develop children's knowledge of letters and sounds.
• The skilled and trained special educational needs coordinators are enthusiastic and committed in their roles. They work closely with parents and other professionals to identify, plan and coordinate the additional support that children need. All staff work together to secure rapid rates of progress for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Parent's comments show that they really appreciate the online information they receive about their child's development and learning. This, along with daily chats and regular parent meetings, helps parents to fully support their child's learning at home.
• Staff provide the children with some opportunities to learn about animals from first-hand experiences. For example, staff use the pushchairs to take the babies on walks to the local shops and to feed the ducks. Older children enjoy a trip to the zoo. This, along with discussion, helps to consolidate children's learning.
• Younger children have the opportunity to experience physical challenge and manage risks for themselves. For example, they balance on the wooden planks and logs. However, a small group of older, most-able children do not experience physical play that is challenging and tests their limits.
• The manager holds regular supervisory meetings with each member of staff to discuss their well-being, their teaching practice and any concerns they may have. She regularly seeks the views of children and parents. The manager frequently attends the local authority network meetings and early years conferences. Additionally, she liaises with other nursery managers to share ideas. This helps the manager to reflect on the practice within the nursery and identify clear actions plans that improve outcomes for all children.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• provide older children with even more opportunities to learn about size, length, weight and capacity
• enhance the already exciting outdoor physical opportunities available so that the older, most-able children experience an even higher level of physical challenge in their play.