Woodlands Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and well settled in this dynamic nursery. Staff provide many resources and age-appropriate activities for children across all rooms. Children demonstrate positive attitudes to their learning and are fully engaged in their self-chosen play. For example, older children are deeply engaged in resolving a large puzzle. Attentive staff are on hand to support them and to give guidance, should they need help. Children learn to persevere with tasks, and consequently build resilience for their future learning.

Children develop a love of books from an early age. Staff read regularly to all children and encourage discussions about what is happening and what the illustrations mean. They engage children and ask questions of what might happen next in the story. This interaction helps children develop a stronger understanding of the story and supports their speech and language development further.

Staff fully understand that children benefit from fresh air and regular exercise. Children enjoy outdoor play and have many opportunities to develop their physical skills. Babies climb frames with the help of staff, have fun on the see-saws and dig in the sand.

Older children laugh with joy as they run around the nursery garden with their friends. They play ball games and participate in role play. Staff creatively lead outdoor activities to further embed stories that they have read, such as 'We are going on a Bear Hunt'. Children squeal with excitement as they run and hide in the wooden house to keep 'the bear' out. This helps them to build and strengthen their small and large muscles. Furthermore, children enjoy playing with their friends, which promotes their social skills well.

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

• Staff have a clear vision of what they want children to learn. They have implemented innovative teaching methods that cover a broad range of learning goals. For example, children take it in turns to open the door of the advent calendar. Each door offers a new learning opportunity, such as learning a song in Zulu from South Africa. To extend their learning, staff show children what people might be wearing in different African cultures. Additionally, children skilfully learn to count how many days from then until Christmas. This successfully weaves mathematical learning into the activity.
• Children enjoy weekly visits from an external sports provider. They have the opportunity to learn team sports, such as basketball and football. During the inspection, children practised yoga poses and breathing techniques. This promotes children's concentration well and encourages them to try new activities.
• Babies benefit from secure settling-in periods at different times of the day. This helps them become familiar with their new environment, different toys and new people. Young babies demonstrate that they feel secure and safe as they explore their surroundings. They inquisitively play on the sensory table, putting cereal and ice-cream cones in their mouth. Staff are on hand as they practise their hand-to-eye coordination and experience the different tastes.
• Staff have a secure understanding of the early years curriculum, and know their key children well, overall. Staff observe and assess children to identify any gaps in their learning and development. Staff use the information and swiftly identify children that may need additional support. Management have a thorough understanding of the processes involved with working with other professionals, including that of the local authority and speech and language therapists. However, on occasion, information on children is not sufficiently shared among staff, in particular when children move to another room within the setting.
• Parents speak highly of the staff at the setting. They report that staff ensure that the nursery is inclusive. They work with parents and other professionals to help gather information about children's needs, in particular children that need additional support.
• Staff report that they feel well supported by the manager and provider. They have the opportunity to further develop their knowledge and expertise through ongoing professional training. This enables them to support all children at the nursery. Staff have regular appraisals and meetings with the managers and feel that they can raise any concerns.
• Most children have a wide range of opportunities to develop their independence skills. Older children learn to put their coats and wellies on with little help from staff. Younger children feed themselves at mealtimes. Staff support two- and three-year-old children in one room well to do things for themselves, such as serving their own food from the bowls on the table . However, staff do not consistently implement this in the second room for children aged two to three years. In this room, staff complete a range of tasks for children that they are capable of attempting and mastering themselves. For example, they wipe children's noses for them. This does not consistently provide the same learning outcome for children in this age group.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop a fully consistent approach to teaching younger children independence skills
• strengthen arrangements for sharing information with staff about children when they move rooms withing the setting.