Crocus Early Years (Hinxton Hall Nursery)

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are happy, settled and enjoy their time at the nursery.

They are curious and motivated to learn. Children explore and use lots of wooden shapes, planks, tyres and real-life resources. They move and combine these resources during their play.

Children use their excellent imaginative skills. For example, they make a 'river' using water from the dispenser. They enjoy using natural resources, such as flowers, plants and herbs to make 'potions' and 'perfume'.

Children enjoy sitting in the garden listening to stories. They giggle when asked 'who wakes up early?' Staff use children's interests to explore the ...world around them. For example, they talk about the noisy fledglings that wake them up in the morning.

Children show awe and wonder when deciding whether the large bird in the sky is a red kite or a sparrow hawk. Babies have strong relationships with staff. Babies clap and beam with delight as they play a game of peek-a-boo with coloured scarfs.

Children develop their independence and self-care skills very well. Babies are learning to be mobile and use low-level furniture to climb and walk. Children develop independence skills at mealtimes by feeding themselves.

Older children serve themselves by using serving spoons. They access and pour water from jugs.

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

The inspiring leadership team and highly qualified staff work exceptionally well together.

They regularly reflect on the overall effectiveness of the provision to support and maintain the ambitious teaching. They all have an excellent understanding of how children learn and progress from their starting points. Staff's teaching skills are mostly effective.

However, at times, staff do not clearly consider what skills and knowledge they want children to gain through the activities they provide. This means there are occasions when staff do not provide children with the highest quality teaching.Staff help children to feel settled and welcome.

They treat all children with respect and act as positive role models. Staff actively support children to listen to instructions, share, take their turn and be kind to their friends. When children have minor disputes, staff sensitively support children to resolve them.

Children have a strong drive to explore and relish solving problems. When staff ask how we can make the pine cone fly, they share their ideas. Children create a seesaw with planks of wood and tyres.

They place the pine cone on one end and jump on the other. They persevere with their idea until it launches upwards.Staff promote babies' sensory exploration.

Babies thoroughly enjoy making handprints in the sand. Staff are close by to offer praise, yet allow the babies to freely investigate.Toddlers cradle dolls and sit closely to their friends as they read about 'Alan's big scary teeth'.

They follow the words and anticipate what comes next from the familiar story.Staff are friendly and caring. They interact warmly during care routines, such as at mealtimes and nappy changes.

At rest and sleep times, staff reassure children by patting, stroking and singing to them. This helps children to feel safe and secure.Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported.

Staff understand their needs and work well with other professionals. Staff work closely with parents to review children's next steps, which helps them to decide what to teach next.Partnerships with parents are very well established and valued.

Parents report how exceptionally well informed they are about their children's learning and provide incredibly positive comments about their children's experiences at the nursery. They say that staff are approachable and always have time for them.The manager supports the staff team very well with thoughtful consideration for staff's well-being.

The manager has a strong focus on supporting staff with their ongoing professional development. She ensures all staff benefit from training to develop their knowledge and skills. Staff share new knowledge with the team to help continually improve the high-quality teaching.

Staff value the one-to-one meetings they have with the manager.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Leaders and staff update their safeguarding knowledge continually through training, discussion and staff meetings.

Staff confidently know the signs that indicate a child may be at risk of abuse or neglect. They know the procedures to follow if they have a concern about a child's well-being. There is relevant safeguarding information displayed and available for both parents and staff to access if they need to.

Staff have a strong understanding of wider safeguarding issues, such as the risks of children being exposed to extreme views. They are vigilant and minimise potential hazards in the environment.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: support staff to focus more precisely on what they want children to learn from activities so that they clearly know what knowledge and skills they want children to gain.