Wooden House Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff offer a warm welcome to families as they arrive at this inclusive setting. Children enter with confidence and separate from carers with ease, developing a strong sense of belonging. Children show they feel safe and secure and have high levels of emotional well-being. They build strong attachments with staff. For example, babies crawl over to staff and spontaneously cuddle them. Staff respond with a smile, showing warmth and kindness. Children confidently explore and learn with the support of attentive staff.

Children demonstrate a positive attitude to learning and are keen to join in. Staff implement a balanced curriculum designed to support children to reach the next steps in their development. They plan activities to motivate children to learn based on what interests them. For example, older children create 'snails' using a variety of tools, such as paints, cotton wool buds and cotton reels. Staff skilfully extend children's learning, engaging them in discussions and introducing new words such as 'tentacles'.

Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour. Children behave well, following the clear and consistent boundaries set by staff. Staff support children to use good manners and model kindness and respect for others. Children follow the routines of the nursery and take responsibility for small tasks. For example, they help staff to wash up the snack dishes. Staff use praise well to promote positive behaviour. Children develop the skills they need to succeed in the next steps of their education and later life.

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

• Staff know children well. Key persons work effectively with parents to gather detailed information to help them understand each child's interests, home background and starting point. This helps them to plan activities to meet children's individual needs and develop their learning. For example, children engage in the story 'The Colour Monster' and describe the raindrops as the feeling 'sad'. However, occasionally staff do not adapt activities successfully to encourage engagement from younger children to support their learning.
• Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) effectively. They work closely with other professionals, such as speech and language therapists and the local schools. They plan interventions to provide children with the help they require. This ensures children make good progress from their starting points and are well prepared for the next stage of their learning.
• Staff provide plenty of opportunities for children to grow in independence and practise meaningful self-help skills through routine. They encourage children to do things for themselves. For example, babies make good attempts to put their shoes on independently. Toddlers and older children serve their own food and drinks at snack time.
• Overall, staff provide a rich learning environment where children are constantly exposed to language and words. For example, staff create edible paint with the children using blackberries. Staff use a variety of words to describe the texture, such as 'squishy' and 'smooth'. However, at times, they ask too many questions at once and do not give children enough time to think and respond. As a result, some children do not have the opportunity to share their thoughts and ideas.
• Staff feel supported and valued. They report that their ideas and suggestions are well received by the management team. Managers build on staff's confidence and target professional development well to ensure the curriculum is securely embedded into their daily practice. Managers accurately identify areas for further development of the nursery and fully involve staff in making changes to promote children's learning. For example, they have combined the toddler and pre-school rooms to provide all children with free-flow access to the garden.
• Parent partnerships are a key strength of the nursery. Parents feel valued and enjoy a range of experiences, such as teddy bears' picnics, sports day and nativity plays. Parents value the information they receive from staff regarding their children's day and through electronic communication. Staff regularly share advice with parents to promote continuity of learning. For example, they offer suggestions for ways that parents can support their children with potty training at home.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to use effective questioning techniques to extend children's language, encourage them to share their ideas and to develop their critical thinking skills
• strengthen staff's skills in adapting group activities to meet the needs of all children to promote their learning and engagement.