Woodbridge Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy, and they thrive in this stimulating and welcoming environment. Staff are friendly and caring. Children have lovely relationships with the staff and feel safe and secure. Babies contentedly nuzzle up to staff as they drink milk from their bottles. Older children confidently enter the nursery. They explore their surroundings and seek out their friends to share their play. Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour. They are excellent role models and their consistent approach to managing behaviour ensures that children feel valued and listened to. Children behave well and have good attitudes to learning.

Children benefit from a well-planned curriculum that follows their individual needs and interests. Staff use effective questioning techniques to encourage children to think and problem solve. Children look in awe as they pour mud into the water tray. Staff ask, 'What has happened to the water?' Children tell staff, 'It's dirty' and that they cannot see the bottom of the tray. As a result of this, children are becoming active learners. Babies enjoy playing with puzzles and snuggling up with a staff member while they share a book. Children have a fantastic time engaging in role play in the home corner. They cooperatively play together and make cups of tea for the staff, building on their imaginative skills and social interaction.

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

• There is a strong focus on supporting children's communication and language development. Staff model language and repeat words back so that children hear the correct pronunciation. They ask questions to encourage children to think deeply and share their knowledge. For example, staff ask children, 'What ingredients do you need when making play dough?' Children say 'flour'. They tell the staff, 'The oil looks like honey' and 'lemon soap'. They learn new vocabulary, such as 'squidgy' and 'cinnamon'.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported. The special educational needs coordinator is effective in her role. She works closely with parents and professionals to provide children with the additional help and support they need. As a result, children are making good progress in their development. Additional funding is used effectively to support children's individual needs, such as through books to support their emotional and social development and one-to-one support.
• The manager and the staff promote independence. They encourage children to lead their own play and explorations. Staff teach children to manage self-help tasks for themselves. For example, they pour their drinks, put on their coats and shoes and wipe their noses. Children laugh and giggle as they splash around in the water and tell staff, 'I am wet and need dry clothes please.' Children have a 'can-do' attitude as they persevere to change their clothes. They seek out an adult if needed.
• Overall, the curriculum is ambitious and well sequenced and all children make good progress from their starting points. For example, staff support babies to build core strength as they become mobile. Staff encourage children's numeracy skills. Children confidently use mathematical language during their play and learn about shapes. However, at other times, staff do not show enough rigor in their planning and teaching of activities to enable children to achieve as much new learning as they can from the experiences on offer.
• Children enjoy singing number and rhyme songs. There is a buzz of excitement as the children sing their favourite song, 'Five little men in a flying saucer'. Staff promote children's early mathematical awareness effectively. Children count how many people have flown away and predict how many are left. They call out 'two'. Staff introduce mathematical language, such as 'full', 'empty' and 'half full', as children measure out the flour when making play dough.
• Partnership working with parents is strong. They comment they feel blessed to have such dedicated staff who are nurturing and caring and look after their children. Parents state it is a 'magical nursery' where children thrive. They comment the care and education they feel their children receive from staff is outstanding. Parents state there is a clear handover and open communication at all times.
• The manager is passionate about providing the highest quality care and learning for the children. She encourages and supports staff to undertake additional training to enhance their skills. The manager places a high value on the staff's well-being. Staff report feeling valued and encouraged.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to make the most effective use of all learning opportunities so that children can make the best progress possible.