Woodlands Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff provide a warm and welcoming environment where children demonstrate that they feel happy, safe and secure. Children confidently explore the range of resources and activities on offer and make choices in their play. Staff know the children well and are very nurturing and kind. Effective transition procedures are in place for when children start in the nursery or move rooms, and as a result, children settle well and enjoy their time at the nursery. Staff plan a range of activities to support children's individual interests and next steps in learning. For instance, children delight in using scissors to cut paper as they develop their hand-eye coordination. Staff encourage children to follow their own ideas and try things for themselves, such as snipping one end of the paper and rolling it up to make a broom.

Children delight in pretending to be doctors in the role-play doctors surgery, a very suitable theme for where the nursery is based. They practise putting bandages and plasters on each other and show real concern for their friends.

Staff provide lots of encouragement through play and, as a result, children have high levels of confidence and self-esteem. They have positive attitudes to learning and enjoy involving staff and their friends in their experiences. Staff provide lots of opportunities for children to learn about healthy lifestyles. For example, children enjoy healthy and nutritious meals, enjoy spending time in the large well resourced garden and take part in regular sports sessions.

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

• Leaders and staff have a good understanding of their curriculum and what they want children to learn. Staff closely monitor children's development and plan a range of activities based around children's next steps in their learning. Staff quickly identify any areas where children are not making good progress and put strategies in place to close any gaps in children's learning. They work closely with parents and other professionals to ensure all children's needs are met and all children continue to make progress from their starting points. As a result, all children make good progress.
• Staff effectively support children who are moving on to school. They encourage children to be independent and provide a range of experiences to support children's expectations of what school will be like. Staff also attend events with local schools to share information with children's new teachers to ensure the transition is as smooth as possible.
• Staff are well supported by the leadership team who value the staff and their well-being. For instance, the provider has recently changed staff's working patterns by giving them a day off each week. This has boosted moral. Staff also attend regular meetings and supervisions and have access to a wide range of training. For example, they have recently been focusing on child-led play and how to follow children's interests. This has had a positive impact on staff practice.
• Staff are positive role models for behaviour and support children to know what is expected of them while at nursery. For instance, all the rooms have golden rules for children to follow and, as a result, children are kind to each other and learn to share resources and take turns.
• Leaders and staff build effective relationships with parents and keep them well informed and up to date with their children's progress and development. For instance, all parents have access to an online application and receive regular updates and progress reports. They are also invited to special events, such as the summer fair and celebrations within the nursery.
• Leaders are staff are very reflective and regularly look at what is working well and what could be improved in the nursery. For instance, they have recently introduced more ways for children to be independent at meal times. Children are encouraged to pour their own drinks and serve parts of their meals.
• Overall, the nursery is well organised, and staff are deployed effectively as they support and extend children's learning. However, some rooms are not as organised as well as others and sometimes at certain points of the day, children loose interest in activities and become disruptive.
• Staff provide opportunities for children to develop an early understanding of mathematics. For example, older children engage in number games and puzzles. However, some staff need further support and training around mathematical concepts so as not to confuse children's understanding in the future.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support some rooms with organisation and transitions to ensure all children are engaged and interested in activities
• provide more training for staff to support their teaching of some mathematical concepts and build their confidence.