Woodberry Day Nursery and Pre-School- Fawley

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children come in happily and settle quickly into activities, such as morning group time. When children need reassurance, staff are quick to offer cuddles to help children feel safe and secure. They have strong bonds with their key children. Children develop resilience as staff encourage them to have a go at things they find hard, such as learning how to put on their shoes. They take pride in their accomplishments when they succeed.

Children are curious and keen to explore the world around them. For example, very young babies enjoy testing what happens when you knock wooden blocks together and giggle when it makes a noise. Staff encourage children to explore the world around them through games. For example, staff and older children play 'I-spy' using different colours, and children keenly guess what their friends can see. Children really enjoy being outdoors as they play on bikes, dig in the sand and play hide-and-seek.

Staff develop children's listening and attention skills through small group activities. For example, children take turns being the different animals in the song 'Old McDonald'. Staff help children to develop a love of reading by reading stories throughout the day, and children of all ages listen attentively.

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

• The manager has developed a curriculum with her staff that is ambitious and builds on what children know and can do. However, this is not yet consistently embedded among some staff. Therefore, at times, some staff are not sure of what the overall aims for children's learning are. This means some activities are not planned as precisely as they could be.
• Children, including those who speak English as an additional language, make good progress in their learning and development. They are well prepared for the next stage in learning, such as the transition to school.
• Staff boost children's language development in a range of ways. For example, staff have set up a lending library so that children can take books home, and they encourage parents to read regularly with their children. Additionally, staff introduce new vocabulary, such as 'igloo', as they read with children. However, at times, staff ask multiple questions in quick succession without giving children time to respond. This impacts on children's language development.
• There is a strong focus on children's personal, social and emotional development. Staff recognise that this is an area in which children need further support. They use games to encourage children to think about how they feel and why that might be. Children are encouraged to show empathy for one another and to think about what actions could be taken to comfort and reassure each other when needed. They eagerly shout out 'a cuddle' as the answer. This helps children to develop a sense of emotions in themselves and others.
• Staff support children as they learn how to keep themselves healthy. For example, they encourage children to wipe their own noses when needed and wash their hands after. Children proudly show staff when they have successfully completed these tasks.
• The manager has a good oversight of the nursery and feels well supported by senior managers. Staff have regular supervision meetings with management. This allows areas for learning and development to be identified and then acted upon. For example, staff are able to access training on an identified area, such as enhancing their safeguarding knowledge.
• Children have a good understanding of staff's expectations of their behaviour. They understand the need to follow the 'golden rules'. This is something older children support the younger children with as they remind each other of the expectations.
• Parents comment positively and explain that they are really happy with the nursery. They explain that they receive detailed handovers at the end of the day from both the key person and the online journal the nursery uses. This helps to develop strong partnerships with parents.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop staff's understanding of the overall aims for the curriculum to enable them to plan even more precisely for children's learning
• support staff to recognise when to give children more time to process and respond to questions.