Yeovil College Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are extremely happy and confident in the nursery. The impact of the curriculum is highly effective. Staff plan an excellent enabling environment, which facilitates children in becoming exceptionally successful independent learners. For example, older children 'read' stories, such as Goldilocks and the Three Bears. They then act this out, such as using a microwave, oven gloves, and oats, to pretend to make porridge in different-sized bowls. Children have outstanding opportunities to learn outdoors. They develop resilience, large muscle skills, imagination, cooperation, solve problems, and learn about nature, as well as extending their literacy and mathematical skills.

Children become highly independent and staff use every opportunity to enable children to do as much as they can for themselves. For example, tidy-up time takes as long as they need. They all help and older children work together to carry larger resources, such as tables. Babies learn to feed themselves and staff plan exciting activities, such as transporting water, to enable toddlers to gain the physical skills they need. Older children proceed to set the table, serve their meals and pour drinks with ease. The enthusiastic staff inspire children to get involved and have a go at new skills. For example, toddlers develop rhythm playing African drums and excitedly anticipate familiar actions. When a song says to stop, they all stop at the same time, learning to listen and follow instructions, while having enormous fun.

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

• The manager leads a highly professional staff team. They relish the opportunities for training and development, and enthusiastically implement new initiatives. The management team empowers staff to evaluate their practice. For example, they have focused on how they sequence children's learning throughout the nursery. Staff in each room now have an excellent understanding of how to plan for the skills and knowledge they want children to have before they move on to the next room. This prepares children extremely well for their next stages of learning and eventual move on to school.
• Staff are skilled at using their meticulous observations and in-depth knowledge of the children to plan their next steps. Leaders closely monitor any gaps in children's development and set individual targets to help quickly close them. Staff expertly consider how activities help children to develop the important skills they need. For example, children pull themselves up a slope using a rope and balance along slack lines, to develop their core strength, to help prepare them for writing.
• The manager uses funding efficiently, focusing on what will have the most beneficial impact on children's development. For example, a staff member had a year training in communication and language development, disseminating this to all staff, which has had a massive impact on children's language skills. This means all staff give children plenty of time to think and respond to questions. The highly observant staff notice what fascinates babies, narrate their play, and take turns talking as babies babble. Staff skilfully extend children's vocabulary. For example, toddlers learn what nocturnal means and pre-school children say they need to keep hydrated in the hot weather.
• Children's behaviour is exemplary; they have excellent relationships and high self-esteem. The key-person system and settling-in procedures ensure children new to the setting settle very quickly. Babies happily play peek-a-boo, and toddlers listen attentively to stories. In pre-school, most children can self-regulate their emotions and manage conflict for themselves because staff support them highly successfully from a young age. For example, children go and get a sand timer to happily share resources.
• Children develop an outstanding positive awareness of their uniqueness and other people's differences. From babies to pre-school, they enjoy looking at pictures of their own and others' families. Staff ensure a highly inclusive setting and value children's home languages. Care practices are of a high standard, supporting children's health and well-being extremely well.
• Parents cannot praise the nursery enough, especially the staff. Parents comment that their children are making amazing progress, particularly in their language skills. Parents confirm that they get excellent information, including extensive ways of supporting learning at home. The managers are proactive in working in partnership with other providers and outside agencies. They get to know families extremely well to ensure they can provide the cultural capital each child needs, to prepare them for the future.