Nursery on the Green

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children love to come to this welcoming and nurturing nursery.

They smile as they are greeted by friendly staff, who engage positively with them throughout their day. Children are excited by learning and eager to explore the interesting activities on offer. They happily play alone, as well as with friends.

For example, younger children experiment with different-sized balls as they place them in tubing. Older children work as a team to consider the best way to push vehicles down a ramp. Staff enthusiastically celebrate children's efforts, which helps them to feel valued and proud of their achievements.

Children...'s emotional well-being is supported very well. The strong relationships formed between staff and children help them to recognise their emotions. Children learn how their actions can impact other children.

For instance, staff sensitively explain the importance of accepting others into their play. Children respond with consideration and then act positively. They feel safe and secure and show a good sense of belonging.

Children's love for books is promoted throughout the nursery. They readily explore fiction and non-fiction books on their own and with staff. Children sit close to staff as they listen intently to stories.

Younger children learn to point at pictures and older children talk about the characters, such as when they say the 'Gruffalo is bad'. This demonstrates their developing understanding of the story and its key features.

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

Leaders have designed a curriculum that is well sequenced and covers all areas of learning.

Children enjoy access to the indoor and outdoor learning environment. They readily participate in stimulating activities and show a commitment to learn new things. For example, they explore and experiment with a mixture of mud, sand and snow outdoors.

Children notice what happens as they mix these together and use descriptive words, such as 'cold' for the snow and 'warm' for the mud. All children make good progress from their starting points.Leaders place special emphasis on personal, social and emotional development, as well as children's communication and language.

Overall, staff talk to children clearly, ask questions and enforce new vocabulary, such as 'loud' and 'quiet' when experimenting with percussion instruments. However, sometimes, staff use too many questions and may answer them themselves, particularly with older children. They do not allow children time to process, think critically and respond with more detail.

The nursery provides children and their families with a home-from-home environment. Leaders have a clear vision for the setting. They have a plan in place to further develop areas, such as a forest school.

Leaders support the staff team through regular supervisions to improve their existing practice. They use their well-being training to support staff's good health. Staff comment on the leaders' committed support.

This helps to create an atmosphere of mutual respect and strong teamwork.Leaders and staff promote healthy lifestyles. Children eat nutritious and balanced meals, which they thoroughly enjoy.

Children are physically active and learn about the importance of being fit. Staff teach them about the effects of exercise on their bodies, such as when they run around in the garden and are encouraged to notice their faster heartbeats.Overall, children are familiar with the routines of the day.

However, this is not consistent with different ages across the nursery. For instance, at lunchtimes children eat on rotation, which means some children eat while others engage in activities. This system is less effective and leads to a disorganised routine and high noise levels in some rooms.

Consequently, children who are engaged in activities, such as singing or hearing stories being read, become distracted and lose concentration.Leaders and staff ensure that trusted relationships are built with all parents. They work hard to support parents to help their children continue to learn at home, which parents are extremely grateful for.

For example, they have home learning packs available to promote the enjoyment of books. Parents also participate in themed events, such as Diwali. They enjoyed participating in activities about the Indian celebration with their children.

This commitment is proving successful as parents gain a real insight into what happens in the nursery.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.All staff have secure safeguarding knowledge.

They have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities. They know possible signs and symptoms that a child may be at risk of abuse, including exposure to extremist views and behaviours. Leaders ensure that staff understand the local procedures to follow when they need to report a concern about a child's welfare.

There is a comprehensive whistle-blowing procedure in place and all staff know how to contact the local authority's designated safeguarding officer if an allegation is made against a member of the team. Recruitment and vetting processes are robust, which includes checking the suitability of staff to work with children.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: help staff to understand the importance of a well-organised routine, especially at lunchtime, and the impact of high noise levels on children engaged in learning nenhance the quality of staff's interaction with older children to allow them more time to think critically and encourage more detailed responses to questions posed.

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