Woodland House Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children receive very caring support from staff. They have built strong beneficial bonds with them and are very happy at the nursery. Babies and younger children have wonderful opportunities to explore with their senses. They relish the feel of coloured 'gloop' or investigate mixing sand and water. They follow their interests and explore new concepts very successfully. Staff support the younger babies thoughtfully, helping them sit up and explore dry sand. Children learn to take turns and play cooperatively. Toddlers and older children particularly benefit from the staff's specialist 'emotion coaching' support and focused activities to help them learn about and manage their emotions. Older children show considerate behaviour towards their friends and thoughtfully offer them help.

Staff teaching, particularly for the oldest children, is very strong. Staff skilfully encourage them to recognise and form numbers. Older children concentrate for continued periods drawing items such as a rocket. Staff ask them questions, encouraging them to discuss their plans, and offer children tips to extend their experimentation. Children gain key skills that prepare them well for their future. Young children gain the confidence and skills to express themselves and learn new words. Older children develop their conversation abilities. Children that speak more than one language are very successfully supported to develop their communication, understanding and use of English.

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

• Key persons undertake focused observations and precise assessments of children's development. They provide a stimulating range of experiences in a well-resourced environment. The curriculum leader works promptly with staff if children are behind expected development. They liaise with parents and implement clear targets to ensure gaps in children's learning close.
• Staff build strong partnerships with parents and a consistent two-way flow of information with them. Parents are informed of children's areas of development to help them support children's learning at home. They say staff are very reactive to children's interests and changes they are dealing with, such as the arrival of a new sibling. They value the nursery's nutritious home-cooked food and say that staff genuinely care about the children.
• At times, staff provide challenging opportunities for children to do things for themselves and develop their sense of responsibility. Older babies relish using a handwashing unit before lunch. Two-year-olds serve their pasta. Older children cut up fruit for their snack and carefully pour themselves a drink. Some staff are skilled in their interactions and support. However, other staff do not always challenge the children fully or make the most of the available learning opportunities. For example, staff do not always help babies to master self- feeding or consistently encourage older children to clear up items at mealtimes.
• Staff take children on exciting adventures to local areas. The outdoor ambassador leads the nursery's beach and forest schools, offering the older children rich experiences in which to explore nature. Staff also thread similar themes into activities back at nursery, and children create with natural materials such as flowers and herbs and learn about bird's nests.
• Some staff plan their support for children thoughtfully and communicate with other staff very well. For example, staff swap roles to ensure a child's preferred adult settles them to sleep. Staff collaborate on the use of the outdoor classroom to support older and younger children to jointly access this area. However, at times, focused activities for the older children are planned in busy parts of the garden and these are sometimes disrupted by other children walking through. Additionally, staff do not communicate fully as babies play outside to ensure their interests are always closely supported, such as to change areas.
• Managers and staff carefully support children's literacy. They have recently introduced 'core' books to teach key concepts to children. Babies and young children relish independently selecting books and looking at these with staff. Older children attentively listen to stories and staff extend their learning with further discussion. At the end of the day, children enjoy choosing a book from the nursery's lending library to share with their parents at home.
• Leadership is strong and the staff's well-being is thoughtfully considered by the dedicated managers. Observations of staff and regular supervision and team meetings are integral to their practice. They gain the views of parents to identify areas for further improvement, feeding back with changes planned.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to collaborate closely and consistently make the most of all available learning opportunities, to develop children's skills to the highest level.