Wellingtons Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are greeted warmly by their key person when they arrive. This helps them to feel safe, settle quickly and happily engage in the activities provided. Staff form strong relationships with children and work closely with parents to tailor settling-in procedures to best suit the needs of the children. When children first start, staff gather information about what they enjoy and what they can already do. They find out about children's lives outside of the nursery. Staff use this information effectively to help identify children's starting points and to plan experiences for them that they will enjoy.

Children have lots of fun making Challah bread to celebrate Hanukkah. They use mathematical language to describe measurements. For example, they use words including 'full cup', 'half a cup', 'full' and 'empty'. Children crack the eggs, sieve the flour, scoop the honey and mix ingredients together in a bowl. They describe what the texture feels like, for example 'soft' and 'sticky', and say that honey comes from bees. Children behave well and use good manners. They learn to share, take turns and respect each other. Staff have high expectations for all children and want them to achieve all that they can. There is a strong focus on literacy. Children of all ages enjoy looking at books and listening to stories.

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

• The staff are passionate about providing rich and exciting opportunities for children to experience. They place songs, rhymes and stories at the heart of children's learning. Storytelling is embedded within their routine.The children develop strong favourites and confidently request these stories. Staff read to children with enthusiasm and ask questions about what might happen next.
• Overall, staff actively promote children's communication and language skills. They provide a running commentary as children play, which helps give meaning to what children are doing. Furthermore, staff use descriptive language and use repetition to reinforce understanding. However, they do not always model the correct pronunciation of words, in order to successfully support children's emerging awareness of language.
• All children practise climbing, balancing and running. Staff support them to manage risks safely, for example when climbing the adventure wall and celebrating their achievement.
• There is a clear curriculum to support children's learning and development, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Children make good progress over time. They participate in their learning with enthusiasm, as staff build on what they already know and can do. For example, when children are exploring the bread dough, they talk about what is feels like and describing their actions, such as 'patting', 'shaking' and 'banging'. However, staff do not organise the resources and equipment during activities to ensure that younger children are as fully engaged as they could be.
• The director and the manager support their staff well. Staff comment on the support they receive from them and other colleagues. They value the opportunity to share information at staff meetings. Staff feel comfortable to talk about any issues they may have. The manager holds regular supervision meetings with staff to talk about how things are and improve staff performance.
• Partnerships with parents are well developed. They speak highly of the staff team and value the feedback on their children's development. Parents appreciate the learning ideas and activities that staff provide verbally and through electronic communication to continue learning at home, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Staff are given the skills and knowledge to carry out their roles and responsibilities through a robust induction and regular staff meetings. Any training requirements are quickly identified and put in place. This ensures that children are well supported in their learning and development.
• The manager and staff support children to develop skills in preparation for transitioning to school, and encourage them to be independent. Children put on their coats to play outdoors, and wash and dry their hands. They use tongs to select their snack and pour their own drinks.
• The curriculum is geared to the children's interests in books, and staff use their assessments skilfully to identify and plan for what children need to learn next.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to understand the importance of pronouncing words correctly in order to support children's emerging communication and language skills
• review the organisation of resources and equipment during group activities to increase the younger children's engagement and involvement.