Hamd House Nursery - Bordesley Green

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is outstanding

Children flourish in this inspiring setting.

They are happy and eager to attend. Even children who are new to the setting or have recently moved rooms, settle quickly in the unfamiliar environment. Children build positive relationships with staff and peers.

They are caring, considerate, polite, and well behaved. Staff are excellent role models and children receive praise and encouragement for all their efforts and achievements. Expectations for learning are high and children consistently exceed these.

Children are incredibly well prepared for each stage in their development and ready for school when the... time comes. Children engage with awe and wonder in the activities on offer. Each child's interests are followed and staff ensure that every experience has a purpose.

For example, children learn about their five senses with a variety of activities which capture their interests. They listen to and identify different sounds, explore textures, smell a variety of possible ingredients, and predict if they taste sweet or bitter. Children are motivated to learn more.

Staff extend and challenge and create excellent opportunities for children to learn about similarities and differences. Children find out about people who cannot see and how they read and identify packets using Braille. They also learn that some people have a dog to help them with tasks, like going shopping.

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

Managers lead the experienced, highly qualified, and established staff team exceptionally well. All staff are trained and coached to enhance their professional development and effectiveness. They are fully dedicated to their roles and incredibly supportive of one another.

Staff expertise is acknowledged and shared, and they have regular opportunities to evaluate and assess practice and exchange ideas. Their accomplished vision and approach ensure the provision for children reaches and exceeds the highest levels consistently over time.Staff know all the children extremely well.

Key persons consider each child's needs, interests, and abilities. They work closely with other staff to provide a wealth of innovative experiences to enhance children's learning. Staff are skilful in their approach and instinctively know when to adapt their teaching to provide the best opportunities to support children.

For example, children learn about different shapes as they play with shape sorters and jigsaws, find shapes in the sand or water, and talk with staff about what they find. Staff enrich these experiences as they sing 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' and talk to children about stars in the sky and introduce concepts, such as night and day and light and dark.Children are engrossed in familiar stories and keen to act out their favourite parts with puppets and props.

Staff extend and enrich opportunities as children re-enact the story as they move around outside, pretending to be the different characters. Inside, they continue their learning and thoroughly enjoy making figures with play dough and make individual collages with pictures, which follow the events in the story.Children are incredibly proud of their achievements.

They confidently talk about and compare the butterfly they saw in the garden, which was red, with the one they are colouring in yellow and pink. Children are keen to talk to the inspector and staff in English, and in their home and other languages. They use familiar words and phrases and try out the new vocabulary that they are discovering.

Children make plenty of choices throughout the day, which support their health and well-being. For example, they select from a range of fruits and vegetables at snack times. They also learn about where milk comes from and how it supports their health.

Children are encouraged to persevere to develop their physical skills, such as pedalling a tricycle outside. They also learn about the environment and have enjoyed recycling boxes to make models with their families in the holidays. Children are keen to talk with their friends and the staff about what they made and point out what in the display is theirs.

Parents comment that they feel incredibly welcome in the setting and are actively involved. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, parents regularly attended workshops, meetings and celebrated various festivals and special days with their children and the staff. They are pleased that these opportunities, such as the recent graduation ceremony, are returning.

Staff are very keen too and are looking forward to welcoming moms, dads, grandparents, and others to the up-and-coming events. Parents are delighted in their choice of provision for their children and would not consider going elsewhere. Many have used the setting for several years to accommodate their growing families.

They acknowledge the part that the provision and familiar staff have played in the upbringing of their children and the close bonds that are created. Parents say the staff are their children's 'second moms'.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Managers follow robust recruitment procedures and make regular checks to ensure each member of staff remains suitable to work with the children. The premises, resources and equipment are safe and suitable and procedures in place keep children secure. Managers and staff have excellent knowledge and understanding of the signs and symptoms that may indicate a child is at risk of harm.

They are confident in the procedures to follow if they have concerns about a child's welfare or about the behaviour of staff or other adults around the children. Managers and staff signpost parents to additional help and services available in the community. Parents comment about how grateful they are and how supportive this has been while dealing with both personal and family circumstances.