White Waltham Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy at this welcoming home-from-home nursery. They settle quickly and follow their own interests and ideas as they play. For example, children select the resources they need to build a tunnel for their toy vehicles. They demonstrate a positive attitude to learning and explore which cars travel down the ramp and through the tunnel the furthest.

Staff's expectations of children are high. They provide children with many opportunities to develop their physical skills. Children confidently ride scooters and balance bicycles and laugh with excitement as they race with their friends. They strengthen their muscles and demonstrate good control of their bodies as they climb up and over climbing equipment. Children focus intently and use pegs to carefully clip materials together to build their outside den. They show good imaginative skills, pretend to cook for staff and use a range of tools to whisk and transport sand onto plates.

Children learn about the nursery rules and boundaries and what is expected of them. For example, they know to wait for their turn to climb the steps of the climbing frame and understand that this is to help keep them safe. Staff are caring and attentive and place a strong focus on teaching children to share and use good manners.

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

• Children behave well and form close friendships with their peers. For example, they demonstrate good problem-solving skills and work closely alongside each other to successfully connect guttering together and build their own car run.
• Partnerships with parents are good. Staff take time to get to know children and their parents and build strong and trusting relationships. They regularly share their assessments of children and seek parents' views about their children's development and achievements at home. Parents speak positively about the nursery and say that they have seen lots of progress in their children's development since starting.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities make good progress. Staff communicate well with other agencies to obtain the help they need to offer children specific support. Staff use early years pupil premium funding effectively to meet the needs of children.
• Staff make accurate assessments of children's learning and provide a curriculum that follows children's interests. Children demonstrate that they are motivated to learn and enjoy their self-chosen activities. They engage in play with staff and their friends and act out familiar routines in the role play area. However, planning is not quite as precise as it could be. There is scope for staff to engage children in more detailed discussions, to help build on children's developing speech and vocabulary even further.
• Children learn about colours and mathematical concepts as they play. For example, they paint rainbows and identify the colours they choose to use. Children fill up containers with sand and water and use language such as 'full' and 'empty'. They persevere in their chosen activities and fully engage in their learning.
• Staff support children to develop independence skills in preparation for their move on to school. For instance, they encourage children to put on their coats to play outdoors. Children make decisions as to whether they want water or milk with their snack. They are confident to open their lunch boxes and packages and ask for support if they need it. Children thoroughly enjoy their mealtimes. These are social occasions when children sit together with their friends and staff in a relaxed family atmosphere.
• The managers and staff team have worked hard throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and have made changes to the provision to keep children and their families safe. Staff have meetings to discuss how they can improve their practice and make good use of training opportunities to add to their skills and knowledge. They say that they feel valued and supported in their role.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• use what is known about children to plan more precisely and build on children's developing speech and vocabulary even further.