Windmill Park Children's Centre

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children settle quickly and feel secure in the warm, friendly environment. They are happy and thoroughly enjoy the time they spend at the nursery. Staff are nurturing and take time to get to know the needs of all children. Consequently, children establish strong bonds with the nursery's staff. Children are familiar with the routines and structure of the day. For instance, at dinner time, children independently select food and pour their own drink. Staff adopt a caring approach and respond well to children's individual needs.

Children are provided with healthy, nutritional snacks and meals that promote their good health. Children are supported to develop self-help skills, such as at mealtimes. For instance, younger children are encouraged to use their cutlery, while older children are encouraged to serve themselves at lunchtime. Children learn how to keep themselves healthy and well. They know why it is important to brush their teeth. They use a giant toothbrush to practise brushing a set of teeth. Children's behaviour is good. They play cooperatively with their friends and are learning to share and take turns. Staff are good role models for the children. Children respond positively when staff remind them to use good manners.

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

• Partnerships with parents are good. Parents make positive comments about the care their children receive. Overall, they are pleased with the service provided and praise staff for their commitment to make sure every child feels valued. Parents receive daily information about what children are doing on collection. The nursery has an online platform which has regular updates on children's learning and development. However, some parents are not confident in accessing this information. As a result, they do not feel well informed of their child's progress.
• There is a strong team spirit at the nursery. Staff say that they are confident to approach the manager and feel that she values their well-being. The staff team is qualified and experienced. Staff have access to ongoing professional development through an online training provider. This helps to support their practice and to promote children's learning needs.
• Staff support children's emerging language skills well. They provide a language-rich environment where they talk to children, sing songs and read books. Children learn new words, such as 'cucumber' and 'frozen'. Older children are provided with an environment where they hear spoken language clearly and fluently. This helps to promote children's correct pronunciation of words and helps them to understand how to put words together to form sentences.
• Staff know children and their interests well. They understand what they want children to learn. They use this knowledge to organise the learning environment, prepare activities and to develop children's learning. For example, children learn about the different sounds that animals make and learn to say their names correctly.
• Support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and for those who speak English as an additional language is a strength of the nursery. Staff swiftly identify children who need additional support and then work effectively with other professionals. Staff have a very good knowledge of strategies to support children. These strategies are extremely well thought out and tailored to children's needs. Managers focus their efforts to remove any barriers to learning. Intervention plans are monitored accurately and with detail. This contributes to the excellent progress children make.
• Staff use opportunities to extend children's mathematical understanding. For example, children are encouraged to count during activities and to explore and understand size, quantity and positional language. This supports children's understanding of mathematical concepts effectively.
• Overall, staff provide good opportunities for children to play and learn outside. Staff know and understand the benefits of outdoor play to promote children's physical and emotional well-being. Children access experiences with confidence, excitement and determination. For instance, children thoroughly enjoy exploring farm animals, frozen in ice. However, older children are not always given play opportunities which help them to strengthen their large-muscle skills, such as climbing and jumping.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• extend the range of opportunities available for children outdoors, to ensure that all children have an appropriate level of challenge
• find further ways to work in partnership with parents to promote consistency and continuity of learning.