Foundations Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is outstanding

The members of the passionate leadership team are extremely successful at conveying their vision to the whole staff team. The nursery provides an exceptional child-centred curriculum.

Consequently, children make decisions about their play and develop a highly positive attitude towards learning. Teaching is inspirational. Staff are extremely knowledgeable about the different ways that young children learn.

They have high expectations for every child. Staff sharply focus activities to give children excellent support to build on what they already know and can do. All children, including those with special education...al needs and/or disabilities (SEND), make rapid progress and show high levels of enthusiasm and sustained interest in activities.

Settling-in arrangements are remarkable. All children benefit from home visits. The key person uses this time to begin to build exceptional bonds with the child.

They collect an impressive range of information from parents about children's interests and what they already know and can do. They use this valuable information to meet children's unique needs from the start. Children are exceptionally happy, confident and extremely settled in this outstanding nursery.

The relationships between staff themselves are exemplary and provide an excellent role model for children's behaviour. Children are respectful, kind and help each other. They are actively and consistently praised by staff for their efforts and achievements.

This results in superb levels of confidence and a determination to succeed.

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

Evaluations of staff's teaching practice and staff supervisory sessions are given the utmost priority. The leadership team places a strong emphasis on continued professional development.

This ensures the highly qualified staff use all their expert skills and knowledge to the fullest potential. For instance, recent training has enabled staff to be even more effective in their support of children's speech, language and communication development.Children are fascinated to explore and investigate the limitless amount of stimulating opportunities in the exciting outside environment.

For example, older children become deeply engrossed as they draw the flowers they see. Other children squeal with delight as they take risks by climbing ladders on grassy slopes. Children demonstrate extensive knowledge of planting and growing.

They confidently describe how they grow vegetables in a polytunnel and explain when and why they are ready to be harvested.Staff superbly support children to become good citizens in their own community. For instance, they take children on litter collection walks and carefully tend to their allocated section of the community memorial garden.

Furthermore, children contribute positively to society as they regularly help to make soup and pasta, which they deliver to a local food bank.Staff are exceptionally skilful in supporting children's communication and language development. They engage older children in meaningful conversations and give enough time for them to think and respond to the thought-provoking questions they ask.

Staff working with younger children provide excellent commentary during activities and introduce children to new words.Partnerships with parents are exemplary. Staff use highly successful strategies to share information, including daily diaries and discussions, weekly newsletters and regular meetings.

This supports and accelerates children's learning at home and in the nursery. Furthermore, staff have established exceptional partnerships with other professionals. This helps them to support children with SEND superbly.

Parents' feedback is extremely positive. They praise the staff for their passion and commitment to providing the very best for every child in the nursery. They describe the nursery as a heart-warming place to be and feel their views and contributions to their children's learning are highly valued.

Children are extremely motivated and keen to learn. Younger children become totally absorbed in making their chive and cheese bread. They show high levels of concentration and strengthen the dexterity in their hands as they grate, mix and pummel the ingredients together to make the bread.

Staff support children's mathematical development superbly. For instance, older children match numbers on music sheets to those on a piano keyboard and play simple, familiar tunes. Children confidently learn to sequence the days of the week and count accurately when singing songs and rhymes.

Staff make excellent use of daily routines to help promote children's independence and understanding of healthy lifestyles. For example, children confidently wash their own hands and serve themselves healthy foods and drinks at snack time.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The members of the leadership team have a robust understanding of their roles and responsibilities in helping to keep children safe. They implement thorough recruitment procedures to ensure that all staff are suitable to work with children. Staff have an excellent understanding of safeguarding and child protection procedures.

They know how to recognise and promptly respond to any potential concerns about a child's well-being. Furthermore, staff are exceptionally vigilant and monitor children's attendance extremely well. Meticulous scrutiny of accidents and risk assessments helps staff to provide a safe environment.