Willows Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

All children are settled and enjoy their time at the nursery. Babies benefit from the care and attention from consistent and familiar staff, who know their needs well. Older children develop strong friendships. They eagerly wait for their friends to arrive at the nursery and show kindness and consideration to each other as they play.

Children enjoy a wide range of motivating activities that capture their attention well. Staff expertly follow children's lead and use incidental opportunities to good effect to support children's learning. For example, a group of older children work together to empty a large tub of water. Staff support children's understanding of quantity and measure as they fill containers with water. They compare how heavy the containers become when full and help children to think about why this has happened. Babies are equally well supported as they explore the outdoor area with curiosity and excitement. They squeal in delight as they splash their hands in paint and make patterns on paper.

Children behave well. Staff create opportunities for children to collaborate on tasks, such as when playing number games together. They provide sensitive support when children need help to understand how to wait for their turn. Children show high levels of confidence in recognising and naming their own emotions. They learn how to manage their feelings. Therefore, when minor disagreements arise, children can manage these for themselves.

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

• The provider holds effective oversight of the quality in the nursery. They ensure that managers and staff are well trained and that staffing arrangements meet ratio requirements and the needs of the children. The team of staff benefit from regular supervision and feedback to improve their effectiveness. Morale is high and staff report favourably on opportunities to develop in their roles, including working towards recognised qualifications. Managers work in close partnership with their local linked nursery and share expertise, which supports continuous improvement.
• Staff design an ambitious and well-sequenced curriculum that supports children's good progress overall. They support children well through joining in their play and asking questions that help them to think. Staff in the baby room demonstrate a secure understanding of child development, and they support the youngest children to reach typical milestones quickly. However, sometimes, teaching, particularly for older children, is not focused sharply enough on what children need to learn next. At times, children's attention wanders as they are not sufficiently challenged, and they move to another activity.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) benefit from an inclusive nursery that meets their individual needs well. The special educational needs coordinator implements strategies advised by professionals effectively. However, not all staff are confident with children's individual plans to ensure that there is consistency for children with SEND. Additional funding is used to good effect to fund one-to-one staffing that benefits children's learning.
• Across the nursery, staff support children's communication and listening skills well. Children develop a love for reading. They show good recall of popular stories and hold an impressive vocabulary. Older children make good attempts at sounding out letters in their names and writing these on artwork. Children gain an expert knowledge of interesting topics, such as outer space, through access to a wide range of non-fiction books. Babies participate in energetic rhyme times and jiggle or dance to popular songs. Staff support young children's early attempts at communicating well, through repetition of familiar words, supplemented by simple hand signs.
• Staff have high regard to supporting children's emotional well-being and promoting healthy lifestyles. They boost children's self-esteem effectively and support them to become confident, resilient learners. Children develop competence in their physical skills. For example, they create a challenging obstacle course and show good agility as they balance safely on wooden planks. Staff support children's independence well, in readiness for their move on to school. For example, children take responsibility and pour their own drinks and lay the tables for lunch. Children enjoy a wide range of healthy and nutritious meals.
• Partnerships with parents are effective. A regular two-way flow of daily information ensures that parents are kept up to date. The provider ensures that parental feedback is acted on and improvements are made, where necessary. Parents report positively on the daily handover and the information they receive via online communications. Staff use information on children's achievements and interests from home to successfully build on their learning at the nursery.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support all staff to have the knowledge and confidence they need to provide the tailored support some children with SEND need, to ensure consistency throughout the day
• strengthen staff knowledge of intent so that the curriculum is focused more precisely on what staff want children to learn next.