Middlesex University Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is outstanding

Children are visibly happy, inquisitive and highly motivated to learn.

Staff use their excellent knowledge and experience to create a rich and inspiring learning environment where children thrive. Staff have very high aspirations for the children. Babies show extremely high levels of curiosity and perseverance.

They hide under large foil material and listen with fascination to the sounds the foil makes. They move around inside it and giggle with delight, just before they come out to surprise their key person.Children behave extremely well.

Staff provide a range of experiences that support children in fi...nding new ways of handling their emotions, reflect on their differences and respect others' views and opinions. Children develop a very positive sense of themselves, which increases their confidence in their own abilities. Children follow safety guidance and clear boundaries that have been extremely well established.

For instance, older children drink hot chocolate around a campfire and understand the hazards. They know exactly where to sit and stand and keep themselves safe.There is a high focus on children gaining new and stimulating experiences that help develop their physical skills.

For instance, children spend significant amounts of time outdoors and have 'welly Wednesdays', where they have forest school sessions. Children become captivated as they make swirls in the water with sticks in the stream. Older children choose to take clipboards and pens and proudly show the drawings of the wildlife they discover.

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

Partnerships with parents are exceptional. Staff provide an array of opportunities for parents to be involved in their children's learning in the nursery and at home. For example, parents are invited to contribute to assessments of learning, attend stay-and-play sessions and have meetings with key persons.

They also share observations from home. Staff help parents to access the help children require from professionals, such as health visitors and speech and language therapists. Parents report that they find this extremely beneficial to their families.

The bonds between staff and children are strong. Through exceptional transition arrangements, such as home visits, senior managers and staff gain a full and precise understanding of children's needs from the outset. Staff go above and beyond to create seamless transitions to subsequent rooms and then on to school.

This promotes children's emotional well-being and provides a strong foundation for their future learning.Staff use highly effective and consistent strategies to promote positive behaviour and raise children's self-esteem. Staff challenge traditional gender stereotypes and champion children's uniqueness.

For example, children thoroughly enjoy dressing up in sparkly jewellery and dresses and character costumes, regardless of their gender. This supports children to respect differences and helps them to feel unique and deeply valued. Behaviour is exemplary.

They have excellent social skills and are extremely kind and respectful to one another.Staff see every moment as a potential learning opportunity and make the very best use of them to assess what children know and can do. They draw on children's interests, consistently revisit activities and test what children have remembered.

For example, babies delight in dipping ginger and lemon teabags in teapots filled with water. They are highly curious as they observe the change in colour and taste. They further enjoy playing with soapy water outdoors.

They dip a soapy stick into the bottle and practice blowing to create bubbles. Babies laugh out loud as the bubbles burst.Staff extend and support children's communication and language skills exceptionally well.

They teach new words and use non-verbal methods, such as a pictorial timetable, to build strong foundations for listening, understanding and speaking. Children who speak English as an additional language make rapid progress with their communication skills and learn to speak English confidently and fluently.Children's independence is promoted exceptionally well.

Children learn excellent hygiene practices and manage their own personal care effectively. For example, babies and younger children pick up or push their own small chairs to place at the lunch table, so that they can play their part in helping out in daily routines. Toddlers and older children are eager to do things for themselves and have a positive attitude to attending to their personal care needs.

The quality of teaching is outstanding. The provider and the manager work alongside staff and provide ongoing evaluation, coaching and support. The manager makes careful plans for the development of each member of staff, which builds on their strong teaching skills and professional knowledge.

For example, staff use knowledge from Makaton training to provide focused activities to improve children's speech and language. This, coupled with an extremely strong focus on self-evaluation, helps to raise the excellent quality of teaching continually.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The management team ensures that staff keep their safeguarding knowledge up to date. For instance, they test staff's knowledge in staff meetings. All staff have an excellent understanding of how to deal with possible concerns about children's welfare.

They are familiar with the whistleblowing policy and local safeguarding procedures for reporting allegations. They have an exceptional understanding of the signs and symptoms which may indicate that children are at risk of harm, including exposure to extreme views or behaviours. Leaders ensure that recruitment and induction procedures are highly robust and ensure that staff are suitable to work with children.