Wise Owl Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happy and are greeted warmly by the friendly and professional staff. They hang up their belongings and wave goodbye to their parents through the 'waving window', before settling into the familiar routines of the nursery. Children develop close bonds with their key person and other staff. As a result, children feel safe and emotionally secure. Staff genuinely care about the children and swiftly attend to their individual needs. For example, babies receive loving cuddles and gentle words of reassurance if they feel upset or tired.

Children benefit from a good balance of adult-led activities and child-initiated play. They are confident in their surroundings and freely explore their environment, with an enthusiasm for learning that is shown by children of all ages. All children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are supported well and make good progress.

Children enjoy celebrating a range of cultural festivals during the year to help develop their awareness of the diverse world that they live in. Children are well behaved, kind and respectful to each other and staff. They learn to share and take turns from a young age. For example, toddlers engage in a group singing activity where they take turns to cuddle a teddy bear and then pass it to a friend. Older children learn the language of feelings, which helps them to talk about and begin to regulate their emotions. Children receive lots of praise and encouragement from staff, which helps to raise their self-esteem.

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

• The manager and provider have high expectations and strive for excellence. They have designed a broad, sequenced curriculum that considers the learning needs and interests of all children. The manager and staff work in close partnership with other professionals to ensure that children with SEND receive targeted and individualised support to help close the gaps in their learning.
• The manager and provider value their staff team and their well-being. They provide ongoing professional development opportunities that have a positive impact on children's learning and development. Staff benefit from regular supervisions and feedback about their practice. However, coaching and mentoring needs are not identified as swiftly as they could be. This has resulted in some minor inconsistencies in the quality of interactions children receive.
• Parent partnerships are strong. Staff keep parents informed about their child's care and learning. Parents are invited into the nursery to join their children for celebrations and special events. Written feedback from parents is complimentary. They write that their children love being at the nursery and that they value the support and information staff share with them.
• The manager and provider use feedback from parents to identify strengths and areas for improvement. For example, they have recently developed the outdoor area and introduced more resources. There is scope, however, to develop this further to ensure that children consistently benefit from rich experiences across all areas of learning.
• Staff encourage children's independence well. Older children manage their self-care needs, such as going to the toilet and washing their hands. Babies learn to feed themselves with a spoon, developing their hand-to-eye coordination.
• Staff help children to develop a love of books from an early age. Babies snuggle up to staff and explore sensory books together. Staff introduce new words, such as 'fluffy' and 'soft', which helps to develop their emerging vocabulary. Children enjoy activities based on favourite books. For example, they have lots of fun in the outdoor area searching for pictures of the different fruit the caterpillar ate in 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar'.
• Children benefit from opportunities to explore and experience the world around them. They take part in regular outings in the community that help to enrich the curriculum and extend children's learning. For example, after reading 'Jack and the Beanstalk', children visited a garden centre to look at the different plants and to purchase 'magic beans' to grow at the nursery.
• Children enjoy spending time in the fresh air, developing their physical skills. They ride on balance bicycles and tricycles with good coordination and skilfully navigate climbing apparatus. Children have fun using their imagination. They dress up as pirates and climb on the wooden pirate ship. Staff join in with their play and ask open questions that promote children's thinking and conversation skills.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen the arrangements for mentoring and coaching so that minor inconsistencies in practice are swiftly identified and addressed to raise the quality of teaching to a consistently high standard
• continue to improve the outdoor area to provide a rich environment that encompasses all areas of learning.