Hambledon Nursery School Limited

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is outstanding

The headteacher and her extremely enthusiastic staff team succeed in delivering on their strong ethos, which they describe as providing a highly stimulating environment 'where skills to last a lifetime are taught and lifelong memories are made'. Children have immense fun as they learn. This is demonstrated perfectly as children roll in shaving foam, exclaiming that they are 'snowmen'.

Children have excellent opportunities to develop skills essential to their future. For example, they demonstrate exceedingly high levels of independence and a very strong knowledge of how to keep themselves safe and healthy. They know that ...they need coats, hats and boots due to the cold weather and discuss this eloquently as they dress themselves confidently.

Children demonstrate exceptionally high levels of confidence and security in the setting. This comes from the robust bonds they form with their key person and from the wonderful input staff give to supporting children's emotional development. Children demonstrate this when they manage changes in routine, such as visitors coming in or 'empty classroom' days where they learn outside all day, with great ease and excitement.

Staff have an extensive understanding of each child's interests, abilities, cultures and backgrounds. They ensure every child has the best possible opportunities to meet their full potential. They continue to extend and challenge particularly able children who are learning more advanced numeracy such as calculations and are beginning to form three letter words.

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

Children behave impeccably. They understand extremely well how to manage their feelings. When an issue arises, older children discuss it calmly to allow staff to rectify the issue.

Toddlers develop great social skills as staff focus attentively on providing them with opportunities to work together. For example, when three toddlers ride a specially designed bicycle together, they work exceedingly well as a team to make it go where they want it to.Staff demonstrate exemplary teaching skills through which they provide children with wonderful opportunities to use critical thinking skills and to extend their thoughts.

For example, when children want to make snowmen out of dough, staff ask them how they will do this. Staff ask cleverly worded questions to empower children to lead their learning.The headteacher has given extensive consideration to how she can best deploy staff to ensure children consistently benefit from high-quality interactions that strongly promote the development of language.

As a result, children receive excellent support in developing communication and language skills. Staff model with excellent skill and clarity to extend children's vocabulary and to greatly enhance the quality of their speech. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and children who speak English as an additional language make excellent progress from their starting points.

Staff make the utmost effort to ensure they can fully meet the children's needs. This may be through learning through carefully targeted training or from working in extremely close partnerships with other professionals.Children develop a wonderful sense of self and know what makes them unique.

Their backgrounds, interests and experiences are valued immensely and become an integral part of the setting. For example, when children show an interest in dens they learn about houses around the world and represent their own homes through models, pictures or photographs. Children's home cultures are celebrated enthusiastically.

Parents are welcomed warmly and frequently come in to share aspects of children's home lives with the group.Literacy is embedded in practice. Toddlers adore stories and eagerly finish repeated lines as the staff read them.

Older children eagerly use the fantastic skills that they develop in their play. For example, they 'write' lists to accompany their shopping role play and explore the different-shaped marks that they can make with chalk.Staff ensure that they work in exceptionally close partnership with parents and have a thorough understanding of children's overall progress.

The headteacher empowers parents to understand how young children learn, to help them to continue children's learning at home to a high standard. For instance, she has recently sent home guidance on how children develop early writing skills.The headteacher provides immense support for staff both emotionally and professionally.

She understands fully if staff need extra support and provides for this willingly. She follows robust performance management procedures through which she guides and trains staff to ensure they meet her extremely high standards. Staff benefit from fantastic opportunities to develop professionally.

For example, they are supported wholeheartedly by the headteacher to gain qualifications and build on these to become supervisors where they lead practice.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Safeguarding is at the heart of everything the headteacher and her team do.

They actively ensure the welfare of everyone involved, including parents, children and staff. For example, they know when parents need extra support and will provide for this to the best of their ability. This may be by being there to listen or by providing extra hours for the children.

The headteacher ensures that her staff team know precisely how to recognise if a child's welfare is at risk and what action to take. Children have excellent opportunities to learn how to keep themselves safe. They confidently relate safety rules when playing with tools such as scissors.