Morningstar Nursery School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children arrive at nursery eager to start their day. They are warmly greeted by very happy, caring staff.

Children leave their parents with ease and quickly settle at activities that interest them. The playroom is inviting and offers a broad range of exciting and challenging activities. Children have established close bonds to their key person.

They thoroughly enjoy the interaction and conversation they have with them. Staff know the children well and speak calmly and respectfully to the children. Children's individuality is celebrated.

They are fully supported and confident to speak their home language during... their play. Children independently access resources and can initiate their own ideas and interests. They listen with intent as staff read to them, or immerse themselves in stories as they enjoy reading alone.

Children learn that print has meaning and how to respect books.Children thoroughly enjoy their time in the garden. All areas of learning are supported in the curriculum outdoors.

The role-play area is extremely popular, and children engage with one another, acting out real-life scenarios. They make tea and skilfully balance the cups as they carry a tray to offer staff a drink. They count their jumps as they exercise on the trampoline.

Children negotiate space well as they ride their bicycles, being careful not to bump into their friends. Children learn about rhythm and thoroughly enjoy singing. They are intrigued by the sounds that instruments make.

Children count the strings on guitars as they strum. Staff introduce new words to broaden their vocabulary and talk about the 'plectrum' and how to use it.

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

The manager has good systems in place to recruit, induct and monitor staff practice.

She welcomes her team's ideas and individual skills that will enhance the curriculum. Staff comment that they feel valued and fully supported to develop their own professional qualifications and attend training whenever possible. The manager has established positive working relationships with the area development officers and works closely to implement strategies that will further enhance the outcomes for children.

Children learn how to stay safe and healthy. They enjoy nutritious snacks and meals. Children are encouraged to make independent choices as they select a variety of fruits at snack time.

They are gently supported as appropriate when serving lunch. Children pour drinks with skill. They manage stairs well when entering the nursery and as they access the outdoor space.

Children understand the risk and are closely supervised, which means they learn the importance of how to stay safe.Staff have high expectations for the children attending. Children are spoken to respectfully, and their behaviour is generally good overall.

They listen when staff talk to them and respond to requests. However, on occasions, some staff are too quick to intervene in children's disagreements. This means that children are not learning to negotiate with one another to establish a positive solution to a problem, such as when sharing toys.

Parents express their complete confidence in the staff and feel assured that their children are safe and progressing well. They comment that their children settle quickly. Parents say the staff are 'brilliant'.

They say that the communication is excellent, and they are fully informed regarding their children's progress. Parents feel the staff know their children well and say that their children 'cannot wait to attend nursery'.Children's understanding of simple mathematics is supported well.

Many activities have opportunities for counting and recognising numbers or shape. Children thoroughly enjoy learning mathematical language and simple sums, as activities are fun. For example, they talk about how many scoops of water are needed to fill pots.

They compare the size of the scoops in the water play and use language such as 'higher', 'lower', 'bigger' and 'smaller'. Children concentrate well, matching brightly coloured shapes and putting them in order.The key-person system means that children settle quickly.

The staff are sensitive, warm and nurturing, and children have established secure bonds with their key person. However, occasionally, children find it difficult to express how they are feeling, as they do not have the language they need to express their emotions.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

All staff members have a secure knowledge and understanding of how to keep children safe. They are clear about the process to follow should they have a concern regarding a child's welfare. Regular safeguarding training is a priority to ensure all staff, including new members, are confident and have a good knowledge of how to protect children.

Mandatory training, which includes wider aspects of child protection, is completed before staff work directly with the children. A thorough recruitment and induction process ensures that children are cared for by staff who understand their roles and are suitable to do so.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: provide more opportunities for children to solve problems themselves when negotiating how to share resources nextend the opportunities for children to learn about their emotions and teach them the language they need to express their feelings.