Free Spirits Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is outstanding

Staff have superb relationships with the children in their care. The highly skilled and experienced team provides excellent support for children's learning. Children benefit from a very wide range of interesting, innovative and highly stimulating resources.

These are organised into categories such as fabrics, textures, mirrors, metals, textiles, wood and nature. These tactile materials help support children's natural curiosity and promote rich opportunities for them to investigate and explore.Children are extremely happy, settled and secure in this highly inclusive and welcoming nursery.

Their behaviour is excel...lent and very well supported. Staff talk to children about what is expected of them. For example, they start sessions with a listening song to encourage children to focus.

Children receive superhero certificates for being kind, listening, being special helpers and using kind hands and feet. This helps support their growing confidence and self-esteem. Children benefit from an extremely safe environment, nutritious meals, daily fresh air and secure daily routines.

Their emotional well-being is supported very well. Mirrors are used during activities for children to explore their own expressions and emotions. Children enjoy sharing stories and cuddles.

In the baby room, staff use the sound of a heartbeat or rainfall to soothe them to sleep.

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

Parents speak extremely highly of the nursery and the staff team. They feel fully included in their children's learning and describe the nursery's systems for communication as excellent.

Staff have created attractive books to show parents what children have been exploring and to provide ideas for extending these activities at home. Daily discussion journals are on display for parents to capture children's ideas, comments and interests. Topics are broad, varied and include 'Who are my friends?', 'What can you hear?' and 'Working together'.

Work is creative and innovative. For example, children are invited to find out about the royal family and consider what type of superpower they would most like to have.The nursery is very inclusive and welcoming.

For example, provision is made for mothers who want to continue to breastfeed their babies. Support for children with special educational needs is excellent. Key persons work very closely with parents and other professionals to encourage children's learning and meet their needs.

Staff have introduced detailed assessment tools in order to demonstrate the achievements of all children. They use a range of highly effective strategies to make sure every child is supported and included. For example, staff provide symbols, prompts and signing to promote communication.

Interactions with children are of a consistently high quality. Physical and sensory development is promoted extremely well. Children in the older-age rooms strengthen their muscles as they explore wet spaghetti and dough with their hands and fingers.

They are eager, enthusiastic and motivated to learn. Whole, fresh fruit and vegetables are provided for the youngest children as staff encourage them to investigate food in its natural form. Babies are encouraged to explore using their whole bodies and senses using creative resources, such as small bags scented with rose and garlic.

There is excellent support for children's personal, social and emotional development. For example, children learn how to care for animals. They learn how to feed and groom animals and the responsibilities involved with having a pet.

Extra-curricular activities strongly support children's emotional well-being and include yoga, meditation, mindfulness and music and movement.Staff encourage children to solve problems and think for themselves. For example, when dressing baby dolls, staff ask the children whether the doll should be stood up or laid down and how they will dress it.

Support for children's communication and language skills is extremely strong. Staff ask how and why things happen to encourage children to respond in detail. This helps extend their vocabulary and support their thinking and ideas.

Staff know children very well and have an excellent understanding of how they develop. Bonds between them are strong and relationships respectful. There is a strong focus on friendship and children are supported very well to play cooperatively together.

Children are encouraged to become increasingly independent and care for their environment. They clear their crockery away after lunch and tidy rubbish into the recycling bin.Leadership of the nursery is very strong.

The dedicated staff are very well supported by managers and the hospital trust. Managers meet with staff to support their professional development and all staff attend training to keep themselves up to date. Managers are proud of their team and the work they do.

Displays and books are used to support staff morale and celebrate their achievements. Senior staff continuously review and evaluate the quality of the nursery in order to maintain its very high standards. They are extremely passionate about the service the nursery provides and are highly ambitious for the children in their care.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Managers have an excellent understanding of their responsibilities around safeguarding. All staff keep up to date with procedures to keep children safe.

They know very well how to identify any concerns with children or staff, what procedures to take and who to contact. There are highly robust policies and routines in place to support safe practice. Staff have a high-level awareness of risk.

They teach children very important safety messages through activities. For example, when learning about pets, staff discuss with children how to stay safe around animals. They warn them not to approach dogs without the owner's permission.