Windrush Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy to come into nursery. They are excited to see their key person and their friends. Staff hold their hands to guide them in safely. Children know that their favourite toys will be set out waiting for them, such as diggers or paint and stickers to create pictures with.

Children build good friendships and enjoy engaging in imaginative play. For instance, they make 'nature cakes' from recipes they create. Ingredients include sage, thyme, daises, pinecones and mud. Children behave well. They listen attentively to stories and join in with songs and rhymes. Young children receive cuddles from their key person if they become tired or upset. This helps them to feel emotionally secure.

Children show positive attitudes to learning. For example, older children demonstrate good levels of persistence to plant flowers into pots in the garden. Younger children enjoy collecting the soil needed in wheelbarrows from another area of the garden.

The nursery had a period of closure during the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, staff kept in regular contact with children and their families. They shared a range of activities, so children could do them at home. Consequently, children returned to the nursery feeling relaxed and settled.

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

• Staff know all the children well. They understand children's individual learning and development needs. Staff observe the children throughout the day, assessing accurately what they need to learn next. They identify quickly when children may need additional support. Staff put strategies in place to close any gaps in children's learning.
• Staff support children well to develop good levels of communication and language skills. They introduce and model the correct use of new words and listen to what children say. Staff ask questions to find out what children already know. However, some questions do not build on children's interests or what they can do, to develop their learning further.
• Children develop a love for books. They have access to a wide range of books. Staff encourage children to select stories independently. Children listen to the staff reading, and repeat simple and familiar words and phrases, which helps to enrich their emerging vocabulary.
• Children are independent and try and do things for themselves. Staff give them time to 'have a go', particularly when putting on and fastening their coats and shoes, or when washing their hands. This helps to ensure that children have the self-help skills needed in preparation for school.
• The owner, who is also the manager, and staff reflect constantly on what they do and continue to make further improvements. For instance, since the last inspection, the manager has built and extended a wooden building specifically for the children to use in the garden, to extend outdoor play. Children enjoy regular forest school sessions and learn about the natural world.
• Children have good physical skills. They learn to balance and steer a variety of wheeled toys skilfully around the garden. They climb across, over and under frames, and jump on a trampoline. Staff play organised ball games with children to develop their physical coordination skills. Children practise a variety of movements and dance enthusiastically to music.
• The manager ensures that all staff have access to training that improves their knowledge and skills over time. Staff communicate well together and ensure that the routines reflect the needs of the different ages and stages of children in their care. However, the manager does not monitor closely the quality of staff's teaching with children, to evaluate how well they deliver the ambitious curriculum.
• The manager and staff have strong relationships with parents. All parents speak highly of the care and education their children receive, saying the staff 'bring out the best in each individual child'. They report that staff feel like extended family. Staff provide regular feedback to parents about their children's learning experiences. However, some parents are not always clear on what is next for their child's learning and how they can support children's learning at home.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• monitor staff's practice more precisely to ensure the curriculum is implemented as effectively as possible, to build on children's knowledge and skills even further
• enhance the good partnerships with parents further so that all parents are fully informed how they can support their child's learning at home.