Carousel Nursery School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is outstanding

Children are extremely well settled, confident and secure in this warm and nurturing nursery. Staff provide a rich, exciting and highly inviting environment that inspires children and ignites their imaginations. Children demonstrate an enthusiasm for learning.

Older children eagerly agree a plan for the day with staff during morning circle time, setting their own goals and challenges. At the end of the day, they demonstrate their excellent language skills as they confidently recall what they have done and learned. Staff have very high expectations for all children.

They build on what children already know and ca...n do extremely well, offering them an excellent range of stimulating experiences. Children worked together exceptionally well as they used long wooden poles, tape and bricks to work out which materials are best for building houses. They became fully immersed in their learning as staff skilfully supported them to test out their ideas, investigate and solve problems.

Children are exceptionally kind, caring and considerate to their friends. Even younger children eagerly take responsibility for preparing snack for the group and sharing it out to make sure everyone has the same. When children struggle with their feelings, staff use highly effective individual strategies to support them and help them behave well.

As a result, children who find larger-group activities challenging are able to participate confidently and share willingly with their friends.

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

Staff caring for younger children are extremely sensitive to their needs. They build caring, affectionate relationships with children.

The superb key-person system means staff are familiar with every detail of children's routines, interests and needs. Staff have a highly flexible and responsive approach that builds children's confidence and self-esteem extremely effectively. For example, children are given as much time as they need to adjust when they move up to a room for older children.

They can spend time in their previous room as often as they want to, until they feel ready to make a permanent change.Children play outside enthusiastically in all weathers throughout the day. Staff are highly skilled and seize every opportunity that the outdoor environment offers to extend children's learning.

When it rained, staff helped children who were busy in the construction area discover what happened when different building materials got wet. Children excitedly explained that sheets and paper get too soggy and fall down, so it is better to build houses with bricks.There are excellent partnerships with parents.

Staff continually develop new strategies for involving them in the nursery and ensuring they are fully engaged in their child's development. They keep parents extremely well informed and work with them very closely to extend children's learning, including offering activity ideas, suggestion sheets and resources to use at home.Children's understanding of different people and communities is developed very successfully throughout all areas of the curriculum.

Staff very skilfully extended children's learning about how to build strong houses by talking about what houses are made of in other countries and why. Children were fascinated to find out that traditional houses in some countries were made of paper and wood to reduce damage if there was an earthquake. They demonstrated their excellent knowledge of the world as they explained that an earthquake 'makes the ground wobble'.

Additional funding is used especially well to make sure every child achieves their full potential. Staff provide highly individualised programmes to help children catch up in any areas where they need more support. Children who need it receive extensive additional support to build on their social skills, such as through small-group activities.

This very successfully helps all children develop the confidence and skills they need for school.The management team is highly motivated and driven to provide the highest quality care and learning for children. Managers monitor staff practice rigorously.

They take swift and very effective action to address any areas they identify for improvement. Staff have opportunities for sharply focused professional development, aimed at enriching their knowledge and practice. For instance, staff received extensive training to help them make the very best use of creative opportunities and one staff member is now a qualified forest school leader.

This helps children benefit from exceptional high-quality experiences.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Children's safety and well-being are given the highest priority.

Staff supervise children highly effectively, making sure they are always well deployed in the indoor and outdoor play spaces. They check the environment extremely carefully each day to ensure children can play safely. They involve children in identifying hazards and discussing how to use equipment carefully, to help them develop an excellent understanding of how to stay safe.

Staff are confident and knowledgeable about child protection issues. They have a thorough understanding of how to recognise and report any concerns about a child's welfare and take swift action where required. Managers follow robust recruitment procedures to ensure that all staff are suitable for their role.