White House Nursery Alfreton

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are supported to understand their emotions and feelings. Younger children are shown images of facial expressions and asked to identify how they are feeling. Older children are supported to understand why they feel a certain way, such as being sad when they want to play with a toy that another child has. Children learn the rules and boundaries that staff implement. For example, staff remind older children to use their 'walking feet' when they begin to run indoors. When children's nappies are changed, staff ensure this is a positive experience for them. For example, staff change children in areas that promotes their privacy. Staff sing songs to children when they change them, supporting their speaking skills and contributing to children forming close bonds with staff.

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported well by staff. Referrals to other professionals are made in a timely manner and their involvement supports staff to identify specific targets to meet children's needs. This includes staff using pictures to help children with SEND to understand and follow routines in the day. Older children solve problems when they use wooden blocks to build and construct. For instance, when staff ask them how they can build on top of triangle shapes, children persevere and find shapes that will balance.

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

• Additional funding that some children receive is used effectively to help close any gaps in children's learning. For example, the management team purchase bikes for children to ride, helping to develop their balance and coordination.
• Staff ask parents to share information with them about what children learn at home. This information helps staff to plan different experiences for children to help build on their learning. For example, when staff identify that some children have not been to museums, staff take older children to a museum. Younger children use clay to make pretend fossils.
• Overall, staff support children's communication skills well. For example, staff sing nursery rhymes with children, supporting their speaking skills. However, staff do not identify further ways they can support children who speak English as an additional language with their language development.
• The management team and staff maintain a safe and secure environment for children. They complete risk assessments to identify and remove any hazards.
• Staff find out about children's dietary requirements. They have effective procedures in place to ensure that children are provided with food and drinks that are appropriate for their needs. This helps to promote children's good health.
• Staff help children to settle when they first start. For example, they use distraction, such as taking children outdoors. This is effective in helping children to settle and feel secure in staff's care. When some children start attending, they move from other early years settings. When this happens, staff do not gather information about children's care and learning from previous early years settings children attended to help support children's individual needs more precisely.
• Staff are supported with their well-being. For example, they have access to a counselling service. Staff are asked to make suggestions about how their time in the nursery can be improved. Changes made include providing staff with drinks and food in the staff room.
• Staff support children to develop their mathematics skills. For example, they introduce the names of 3D shapes when they play alongside children, such as a cylinder. Staff encourage children to use language that describes size in their play. Children say that they are making a big ladder.
• Staff provide children with experiences to show positive behaviours. For example, staff ask younger children to turn on their 'listening ears' when they describe objects that are hiding in a box. Children show excitement, listen to staff and take it in turns to guess what object is in the box.
• Staff know their key children well. They observe and assess children's learning to help identify what they need to learn next. However, information about children's next steps in learning are not fully shared across the staff team. This means that not all staff understand how to support children's individual learning needs when they play alongside them.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop strategies to help children who speak English as an additional language to increase their language skills even more
• gather information from other early years settings children attend to help staff plan for children's care and learning more precisely from the outset
• strengthen the sharing of information between children's key person and other staff to further support children's individual learning.