Shining Stars

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children enjoy attending this warm and welcoming nursery.

They form secure attachments with staff who offer cuddles and reassurance when needed. Children demonstrate that they feel safe and secure. They are polite and use good manners as they play cooperatively together.

Older children show kindness and concern for one another as they play alongside their younger friends. Children are learning to share and to take turns, and staff praise them for their efforts. Children are confident and have high levels of self-esteem.

They behave well and understand what is expected of them.Children benefit from a broad rang...e of learning experiences that help them to develop the skills they need in readiness for the next stage in their learning. Children are curious learners and show good levels of engagement and concentration.

They enjoy exploring colour and texture as they use paint, and develop the muscles in their hands as they manipulate dough. Following the COVID-19 pandemic staff have focused their teaching on supporting children's physical skills. They have created a dedicated space to provide children with the opportunity to increase their stamina and develop skills, such as climbing and balancing.

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

Staff have a good knowledge of children's interests and the next steps in their learning. Flexible settling-in arrangements and a successful key-person system help children to quickly settle into nursery life. Staff sequence children's learning and successfully differentiate activities according to children's individual stage of development.

This helps children to engage and remain focused.Children actively join in with creative experiences. They listen attentively to instructions on how to make their own dough.

Older children are encouraged to develop their counting skills as they spoon in flour and salt. Younger children persevere in developing skills, such as pouring and mixing. Children talk about the colour of their dough and use new language, such as 'fluffy' and 'pinch'.

There is a strong focus on supporting children's communication and language development. Staff provide a narrative as children play, which helps to ensure that children hear a rich variety of vocabulary. Staff encourage children to sing songs and rhymes, which further promotes their language skills.

However, occasionally, staff ask children lots of questions in quick succession and do not always give them sufficient time to respond.Children develop a strong awareness of their community. They participate in frequent trips to the local area, such as visiting the library and local parks.

Furthermore, children and their families help to raise money for those less fortunate. Their recent fundraising efforts have benefitted an entire community overseas. This helps children to learn about the wider world around them, their place in society and prepares them well for life in modern Britain.

Children have many opportunities to develop independence and their self-care skills, such as washing their hands before eating. They gain knowledge of how to keep themselves healthy, and make informed choices about healthy eating. The nursery's efforts in ensuring that children benefit from healthy and nutritious meals have been acknowledge through an award.

Additionally, local dentists have visited the children to discuss the importance of good oral hygiene and ensure registration at their local dental practice. This helps children to develop essential skills and knowledge for the future.Leaders are very reflective.

They continuously evaluate their practice in their drive to ensure that children receive the best possible care and education. For example, they recognise that the outdoor area requires development, to fully support those children that prefer to learn outside. They have devised plans to enhance this area and the outdoor curriculum.

Staff benefit from a programme of supervision meetings and observations of their practice. This helps staff to continuously develop their knowledge and skills. Purposeful training opportunities have a positive impact on children.

For example, staff have attended behaviour management training, and have learned how to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Leaders and staff understand their responsibility to safeguard children.

Leaders ensure that staff can confidently explain the action they would take if they had concerns about a child's welfare. They discuss safeguarding during staff meetings and supervision sessions and test their knowledge through quizzes and spot questioning. Staff work effectively with other professionals, such as social workers, to ensure that children and families quickly get any support they might need.

They deploy themselves effectively and supervise children well. Leaders have effective recruitment arrangements in place to ensure that those working with children are safe 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: strengthen staff's questioning skills so that they consistently give children more time to think and respond, to help develop their speech and language skills even further nimplement plans to extend the range of opportunities and experiences available to support those children who prefer to learn outside.

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