Muddy Boots Stamford Bridge

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is outstanding

Management and staff provide an extremely welcoming environment for children.

There is a lovely calm atmosphere throughout the nursery. Children arrive eager to take part in the many and varied activities that staff offer. Staff work with parents to offer settling-in visits that help to introduce children to the nursery.

Parents are updated regularly throughout the day. Staff send them photographs and parents can ring the nursery as well. Parents state that this helps to reassure them when they are at work.

Management and staff are highly successful in using the environment. Each room has their own dedi...cated garden area and from babies to pre-school, children can decide when they want to be learning outdoors. Children become deeply engaged and spend time concentrating on activities.

For example, toddlers show a deep interest in spiders. Staff extend their learning as they teach them about different sized spiders. They count how many they have and hunt for more spiders in the garden.

As children progress through the nursery, staff continually build on their skills. They encourage children to explore, experiment and test out ideas. For example, in pre-school, children build ramps into the water tray.

They pour water down and observe whether the water will move the sticks they have placed there. Staff help children to follow clear and simple rules. Behaviour throughout the nursery is good.

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

The curriculum is fully embedded. Staff understand it and implement it securely and consistently throughout the nursery. They do this with enthusiasm.

As a result, children have an exceptionally strong foundation in learning. Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make excellent progress from their individual starting points.Management is passionate about children achieving the best outcomes.

Along with staff, they continually evaluate what works well and what could be done better. This is very evident through recent changes. For instance, the toddler room entrance has been moved to give more space in their room.

In the garden, access to construction has been reviewed and moved. They have added crates for storage, which helps children to tidy the resources away. In pre-school, they have reviewed the home corner.

This has been expanded to make it more homely, based on information they have received about children's kitchens at home.Management rigorously monitors staff's practice and welfare. They observe staff practice and hold regular one-to-one meetings with them.

They understand staff strengths and where they may need additional support. The provider supports staff well-being. They hold weekly reviews based on how staff feel at work.

This helps them to identify if there are any issues or what is going particularly well. They provide support where needed.Staff support children's communication and language development extremely well.

They get down at children's level, talking to them. They repeat words for them, so that children hear the correct way to say them. Baby room staff sing to the children spontaneously.

Toddlers show their love of rhymes. For example, they sing about a spider when staff show them a book about a spider. Children develop a deep love of books.

They enjoy sitting with staff to look at the pictures and discuss what is happening.Mathematics is part of everyday activities. For example, staff in the baby room count how many trains they have in a row.

They teach pre-school children how to recognise written numbers and to know how many is in a group of items. This extends to children drawing circles on paper. Children have countless opportunities to make marks and experiment with early writing.

Staff provide children with knowledge to support them in making healthy lifestyle choices. Staff follow professional guidance on when pre-school children should clean their teeth. Children enjoy exercise sessions once a week, where they learn about their body.

Toddlers learn about their teeth. For example, they look at a book about the dentist. Staff demonstrate how to brush their teeth.

using a large set of teeth.The management team regularly test staff's knowledge and understanding of the nursery policies and procedures. For example, they have recently looked at the whistle-blowing policy.

Staff all know what to do should they have a concern about a member of staff.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.There is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children's interests first.