Woodleys Village Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children behave extremely well at this welcoming nursery. They confidently share their knowledge with visitors about how they feel as they look at emotion cards and talk about how a 'monster' changes colours depending on how he feels. Children are friendly and have superb bonds with staff. They show they feel safe and secure as they happily play alongside staff and seek them out for support when needed. Children react positively to staff as they are supported to share and take turns.

Children show high levels of engagement and have a positive attitude towards their learning. For example, children enjoy working as a group as they make a pirate ship out of old boxes. Staff ask them questions about what they are doing as they use their imagination to construct it. Children have many opportunities to develop their physical skills. They thoroughly enjoy exploring the inviting garden area. Staff encourage children to take risks as they practise climbing a small tree and enjoy swinging from the branches. Staff provide a continuous dialogue with children as they interact with them. Children learn about letter sounds as they dig for letters in the sand and as staff read them stories. This supports their communication and language development.

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

• The members of the management team have a clear focus on what they want children to learn. Staff are knowledgeable in how they can support their key children to progress in their learning. They use children's interests to plan a wide variety of stimulating activities. Through observations, they plan children's next steps in learning, which helps them to make good progress.
• The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) is knowledgeable in her role. She is proactive in making timely referrals to other professionals, such as speech and language therapists. This enables children to get the early help they need, ready for when they move on to school. The SENCo supports staff to deliver targeted plans. These plans are also shared and reviewed with parents, which keeps them up to date on how their child is developing.
• Staff are enthusiastic in their interactions with children. They continuously encourage children to talk about what they are doing and give them ample opportunities to share their existing knowledge. For example, as children look at the strawberries they have grown, they say they are not ready to eat yet as they are still green. However, on occasions, not all staff consistently provide opportunities for children to learn at the highest levels. They do not always build on what children already know and can do or provide enough challenge in their interactions.
• At lunchtime, the chef discusses with the children what he has cooked for them.
• He tells children what foods are healthy, such as vegetables, and teaches them about pea protein. This supports children to learn about foods that can contribute to a healthy diet. Staff encourage children to serve their own food and pour their own drinks, and they praise them for using their knives and forks correctly. Staff promote positive hygiene routines as children are reminded to wash their hands and blow their noses when needed at the 'snuffle' station.
• Staff encourage children to persevere and keep trying at things they find difficult. For example, as children try to pick up a bucket of water to pour down a tube, they say they cannot do it. Staff give them encouragement to try again. After children succeed, staff praise them for their efforts. This helps to build children's resilience and self-esteem.
• The management team is passionate about the staff's well-being. There is a huge focus on upskilling staff to enable them to learn and extend their knowledge and skills. For example, staff are supported to complete degree-level courses. The members of the management team provide regular supervision and carry out observations of staff practice. They allow staff the time to discuss their roles and provide feedback on their practice. Staff say that the mental health officer looks after their well-being and say that they feel supported by the whole management team.
• Parents describe the staff as 'fantastic'. Staff share information with parents about what is happening in the nursery. They keep parents informed about their child's development via emails and verbal feedback. Support and advice, such as guidance on potty training, are provided by staff to help parents continue their children's learning at home.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to consistently provide challenging opportunities for children to learn at the highest levels, building on what they already know and can do.