The Life Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is outstanding

All children, including those at risk of underachieving, flourish and excel in their learning.

They develop a wealth of knowledge and skills that prepare them wonderfully for starting school. Children enter happily and with great excitement. They quickly settle, become deeply engrossed and have immense fun through their thirst for learning.

Children move freely between indoors and outdoors. This facilitates their imagination, interests and preferred learning styles well. Children show excellent concentration, motivation and curiosity.

They explore pumpkins with awe and wonder as they taste, smell and fe...el these. Children express, with great confidence, impressive and comical language while describing these. Staff create safe and magnificent learning environments and demonstrate high-quality teaching.

They build on what children know with superior skill. For example, they encourage children to closely observe the pumpkin using a magnifying glass and talk about its different components. Children's behaviour is exemplary.

They are exceptionally kind and caring and show a wonderful awareness and respect for difference. They form remarkable friendships and play harmoniously. Where children have additional needs, older children are amazingly attuned to these, readily involving them in their play.

Children show they feel safe and secure. They readily approach staff to ask for help or support.

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

The dedicated and passionate provider, manager and staff have high aspirations for children and a remarkable understanding of families' diverse needs.

They meticulously observe and assess children's learning and plan inspiring, unique and inclusive educational programmes. Staff reflect difference extremely well in the nursery.Staff provide a tremendous range of captivating resources, activities and first-hand experiences.

They remove barriers to learning, including where children have additional needs or speak English as an additional language. Staff help children to catch up quickly through rapid early intervention, including excellent partnership working with community initiatives and professionals.Staff inspire parents to support children's learning.

For example, they provide excellent role modelling through stay and play, singing and story sessions. They have set up a library, provide home-learning activities and hold regular parent consultations. Staff proudly display wonderful examples of parents' involvement.

Staff reinforce and reflect healthy living marvellously. As part of this, they take part in healthy lifestyle awards related to improving children's health in the nursery environments. Children delight in talking about growing and taking carrots home.

Children manage risk very well. Boys work collaboratively while stacking crates to climb in and out of the enormous cardboard box. Children harmoniously build stable obstacle courses and balancing platforms, using planks and large industrial reels.

Children put on helmets before skilfully riding balance bikes.Elaborate development plans are informed by impressive self-reflection tools. Staff qualifications have a significant impact on the outstanding leadership and practice.

This is also attributed to rigorous monitoring of staff practice and precise training, such as that related to literacy for boys and risky play. Staff feel exceptionally well supported.Staff carry out home visits before children start nursery, helping them to build trusting relationships with families.

They gather extensive information to individually tailor children's initial visits and their care and education.Children's photographs are attached to their coat peg, water bottle and self-registration card, helping to foster their sense of belonging. Staff also plan an 'All about me' topic to enhance transitions and help children learn about their uniqueness.

For instance, children look in mirrors and create paper self-portraits. Children show remarkable independence during excellent care routines.Staff magnificently support children's early communication, literacy and mathematical skills.

The environment is rich in print and language and children practise small physical skills while using tweezers and weaving ribbon through fencing. Children make marks in flour while playing in the outdoor exploratory kitchen. They park numbered bikes in numbered bays and measure pumpkins with a tape measure.

Children are enthralled with staff's exciting reading. Staff bring favourite stories to life through activities and displays. This helps to reinforce and deepen children's knowledge and love of books.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The manager and staff have an excellent understanding of their roles and responsibilities in keeping children safe. They work closely with other professionals to minimise risk to children, attend extensive regular refresher training and undertake safeguarding audits.

Furthermore, they stringently monitor children's attendance and regularly practise 'lock down' procedures in the event of an emergency situation. Staff have an excellent understanding of possible indicators of abuse and how to report concerns of a child protection nature, to promote children's welfare. Staff carry out meticulous risk assessments to maintain a safe and secure environment for children.