Once upon a time Nursery School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is outstanding

Children are exceptionally calm, happy and very well settled. They are highly motivated to learn, readily sharing their interests and discoveries.

Babies are confident explorers. They are soothed by the scent of lemongrass and the sound of calming music. Babies use their senses to explore textures of natural objects, showing their delight through expressions and excitable babbles.

Outside, they investigate with new movements while wrapped up in cosy, waterproof suits. Older babies show determination, perseverance and pride as they learn to climb safely, skilfully supported by the watchful staff.Toddlers show exc...ellent levels of concentration for their young ages.

They are inspired to often choose books to look at independently and with friends. They thoughtfully study the pictures and talk about what they see. Outside, toddlers excitedly search for insects in the 'bug hotel', gazing through magnifiers at their findings.

All children have many opportunities for physical activity through their daily 'puffed out and rosy cheeked' activities. They choose animals to inspire their movements, showing coordination and control as they try out exciting new yoga poses.Pre-school children are confident talkers who lead their own learning.

They swiftly develop high levels of independence and self-care skills in readiness for school. Children harmoniously make decisions together, voting for who they would like to be their 'lunchtime helper'. Children experience democracy as they carefully select their choice by placing a toy dinosaur in a pot.

They count who has the most, to ensure the vote is fair.

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

The manager and her deputy have a clear vision for the nursery. They strive to provide the very best opportunities for children.

To achieve this, they empower staff through highly focused professional development. The deputy manager expertly uses her qualification in leadership and management to tailor supervision meetings to the individual needs of staff. This ensures that teaching continually improves to the highest levels.

Staff talk in detail about what children know and can do. Staff expertly tailor educational programmes to children's needs. They draw on a wide range of teaching strategies to suit children's learning styles and interests.

This enables children to develop a wide range of skills, remember past experiences and learn new ideas.Children receive high levels of individual attention. Staff quickly notice when they need extra time or support and provide this in abundance.

Children benefit from 'nurture groups' where they practise talking with confidence and explore their emotions in a small group. Older children confidently talk about their emotions, expressing why they might feel 'angry'.Exciting learning themes are based on children's interests.

The current theme for older children, based on 'The snail and the whale' story, has very successfully inspired children's interest in literacy and the world around them. Staff provide carefully chosen trips to bring learning to life. Children are excited about their upcoming visit to an aquarium to build on their learning.

Children show impeccable behaviour. They listen astutely to staff and follow their positive guidance and reminders. Children show high levels of enjoyment and positivity.

They have much fun playing football, while keeping a tally of how many goals they score. Children giggle with delight as they kick the ball to their friends and pretend to fall over.Staff talk about how much they enjoy working with the children.

They speak very highly of the support and guidance they receive. Two staff are trained as 'well-being coaches'. They promote positive mental health for staff and children.

After completing surveys on staff well-being, the manager encourages staff to participate in 'change' projects. They use their expertise to come up with new ideas to extend children's learning through innovative activities.Parent partnerships are excellent.

Staff work closely with parents to keep up to date with children's changing interests and build on these at nursery, often on a daily basis. Staff find out about children's family backgrounds and use these to create a world map, displaying the links with countries around the world. Staff attend specific training to enable them to help children who speak English as an additional language to communicate with confidence.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff work very closely with families to offer tailored support, advice and guidance. They teach children how to keep themselves safe.

They help children to learn about staying safe online through appropriate stories and by sharing guidance with parents. Children learn about how to speak out and appropriate touch through the NSPCC 'PANTS' campaign. These initiatives are shared with parents to help them support their child's understanding at home.

Staff talk confidently about their understanding of the robust safeguarding policies and procedures. They are pro-active at using their 'professional curiosity' to make further enquiries to ensure children are safe. Any concerns are swiftly reported to the relevant authorities to help children and their families get the support they need.