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Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is outstanding

Children flourish in this highly welcoming and nurturing nursery. They are extremely happy and show they feel secure and content.

Relationships between staff and children are incredibly warm, and children form strong bonds and close relationships with all the staff. Children develop a love of learning due to the innovative, inspiring and challenging range of activities provided. For example, during a nature studies activity, they showed great excitement as they used magnifying glasses to find twigs, leaves and stones in soil.

Children demonstrate high levels of independence and confidence in their own abilities ...and develop a positive sense of self. Staff praise children for their achievements and positive behaviour and are exemplary role models. Children respond well to routine activities, such as setting the table for lunch, and show high levels of respect for one another.

They are polite and use their impeccable manners, saying 'please' and 'thank you' without any prompts. Intentions for children's learning are firmly understood by the dedicated and highly experienced staff and exceptionally well embedded across the whole nursery. Staff use their comprehensive knowledge of the children and what they need to learn next to determine and plan their next steps.

Staff challenge children to think and reason, building on what children already know and extending their learning to the highest levels. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make excellent progress and some children excel far beyond expectations.

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

Leaders and managers have high expectations and are driven to provide the best possible care and education.

Members of the staff team feel wonderfully supported by managers and are extremely dedicated to their role and committed to being outstanding teachers. They are constantly improving the setting and are highly focused on giving children the best possible start in life.Teaching is outstanding.

The highly motivated staff are very skilled and sensitive in their interactions with children. Staff have a thorough understanding of child development and keep a clear focus on what they want children to learn. Their intentions are put into practice through exciting activities that reflect the children's current interests.

Children are fully engaged in their learning and play cooperatively together.The environment is organised to provide children with wonderful experiences and activities, both indoors and outdoors. Children are always eager to join in with adult-led activities.

External professionals visit the nursery to lead music, drama, French and nature sessions. Children have plenty of opportunities to be physically active in the outdoor space, local parks and music and movement sessions.Staff skilfully weave mathematics into children's play and conversations to further maximise their learning.

For example, older children are encouraged to call out the number which follows another and demonstrate an excellent understanding of simple addition and subtraction during a 'train game'.Children's emotional well-being is supported exceptionally well. The key-person system is undeniably strong.

Staff are highly responsive and know children individually. They interact with them with real affection and care.The on-site chef carefully adapts nutritiously balanced menus to meet a wide range of dietary requirements.

Children develop healthy eating habits and enjoy learning about and eating foods from around the world on 'international day'.Older children develop exceptional writing and reading skills through the use of sandpaper letters and alphabet cut outs, allowing them to link sounds and letter symbols effortlessly and to express their thoughts through writing. Younger children thoroughly enjoy story time and staff skilfully use books to extend and challenge their learning during activities.

There are many opportunities to enrich children's communication and language skills. All children engage in songs and rhymes, which are often used as a prompt to complete a task such as tidying up or getting ready to go to the garden. Staff use effective questioning to encourage children to share their thoughts and ideas.

For example, during snack, they talk about the milk they are drinking and where it comes from. All children, including those who speak English as an additional language, develop confidence in their language and communication skills.Effective partnerships with parents are of paramount importance.

Staff engage with parents regularly and keep them very well informed about their children's daily experiences and development. Parents use an online system to access their child's learning records. They are highly complimentary about the care their children receive.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff demonstrate an excellent knowledge of signs and symptoms that may indicate a child is at risk of harm. They recognise that safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and are aware of the procedures to follow should they have any concerns about a child's welfare.

Staff regularly attend training to further develop their expert knowledge and skills. They have increased their awareness of how to identify and protect children from extreme views and behaviours. The leadership team follows excellent recruitment and induction procedures to check the suitability of staff and ensure they are competent in their role.