Weavers Fields Community Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children make excellent progress in their learning. They benefit from a rich, innovative and inspiring learning environment. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language, thrive from being in the care of experienced staff. Children respond to staff's high expectations of what they can achieve. They explore and engage with a wide range of high-quality resources and experiences. Children use their great imaginations to design and make impressive creations. For example, children develop notable levels of knowledge and skill while they complete woodwork projects.

Children benefit from the exceptional thought that staff give to curriculum and the inspiration staff take from children's interests. Children are highly motivated learners and immerse completely in their play. They respond well to the nurturing and empathetic staff, who are fantastic role models. Children's behaviour is exemplary and they play very well with their friends. Children are remarkably happy and settled. They explore confidently, play cooperatively, and demonstrate high levels of self-esteem. Children are very independent from a young age and clearly know what staff expect of them. They develop excellent self-care and social skills in preparation for their eventual move to school.

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

• Children benefit from excellent opportunities to read, build their vocabulary, and enjoy stories throughout the day. Staff use animated and theatrical storytelling to engage children with books, rhyme and song. Children use the relaxing reading area to access books independently or make up their own stories.
• Staff introduce resources and activities that support children to explore and value their individual differences, home lives and experiences. Staff encourage children to find out about the diversity of the wider world through creative arts, reading and celebration. This helps children to gain an excellent understanding of people, communities and the wider world.
• Children who need additional help for their learning get outstanding support from staff. Staff reflect on children's progress to identify any gaps in their learning. They use their wealth of experience to ensure children's individual learning plans are highly focused to close any gaps in attainment.
• Staff expertly integrate children of all ages together. They ensure the activities provided consistently challenge every child. For example, while playing with cornflour, babies repeat new vocabulary as they add water and explore different textures, while older children create imaginative stories as they play with small toys and figures.
• The manager has established highly effective partnerships with external professionals. Parents, key persons, and health visitors meet to complete a detailed health and development review when children are aged between two and three years. They consider the progress that children have made and what additional support they need. This allows swift, timely intervention and the very highest levels of consistency for children's care and learning.
• Parents speak highly of the nursery. Staff meet parents and other professionals to discuss children's individual learning support plans. Parents say that they value the ideas they receive from staff to help support their children's learning and behaviour at home. Staff effectively implement and embed tailored support for each child into practice.
• Children develop their own games and activities. They laugh with delight as they paint an outdoor blackboard with water, washing the chalk away. They challenge themselves and take appropriate risks as they play. For example, they balance on a row of cable reels, developing their physical skills.
• The manager has an uncompromising drive to continually develop the setting and staff practice. Staff say they have excellent professional development opportunities, and they value regular supervision sessions with the manager. The manager encourages staff to share and implement new knowledge gained through training, which benefits children's learning.
• Children develop excellent independent self-care skills, and they learn how to keep themselves safe. They take care of their personal hygiene, prepare for mealtimes, and dress themselves from an early age. Children learn about personal safety, such as crossing the road. Children learn to consider the safety of others, including a mindful attitude to the safety of babies in the nursery.