The Learning Tree

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is outstanding

Children thrive at this exceptional, highly stimulating nursery, where they are excited and motivated to learn.

Staff are extremely caring, nurturing and responsive to children's needs and know them all incredibly well. As a result, children are particularly happy, safe and secure. Children of all ages curiously explore, investigate and speculate.

They excitedly approach the planting and growing area and express sheer delight when they observe the birds landing on the feeder dish. Children skilfully identify adult birds and know that they are storing the food to return to baby chicks. Knowledgeable staff help ch...ildren to understand the importance of recycling.

Children use leftover meals for animals in the garden, which ignites discussion. Children consolidate tried and tested ideas for what to feed birds and consider what they think the birds will enjoy. They hear and begin to use new language, such as 'perched'.

They are eager to share their new knowledge with friends.Staff provide an exceptionally calm and supportive environment in which all children thrive. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when children were unable to attend, staff kept in close contact with families.

They recorded special video messages to share with children and created personalised activities for children to enjoy at home. This helped to support children's emotional well-being and continuous learning and helped them to settle back into nursery life easily.Children's behaviour is exemplary as they play harmoniously in their wonderfully resourced environment.

Children relish the roles and responsibilities they are given. They carefully fill water cans independently and proudly carry trays as they serve meals to their friends at lunchtime. Children demonstrate excellent self-regulation.

They start school with an abundance of knowledge and skills and a love of learning.

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

The owner and managers are inspirational in their pursuit to provide the highest quality of care and education for children. Staff are incredibly well supported and prepared for their roles and their well-being is prioritised.

They engage in regular and highly purposeful observations of their practice and an abundance of professional development opportunities. Staff use continual discussions with parents and detailed knowledge of every child to plan for the next steps in children's learning. This has a huge influence on children's learning and development, as staff are enthusiastic and highly committed to securing the best outcomes for children.

Relationships with parents are outstanding. They are incredibly complimentary about the nursery and staff. They talk about the 'homely and family feel' and how hard the team work to ensure an inclusive service.

Parents comment on the high-quality learning experiences on offer and how well their children are prepared for transition to school.Children's communication and language development is exceptional. Staff are excellent role models and consistently extend children's vocabulary through thoughtful interactions.

Children delight in numerous opportunities to explore songs and stories. They have extensive knowledge of Makaton signing, which they demonstrate throughout the day, for example saying please and thank you at mealtimes.Children display exceptionally high levels of engagement in activities.

Staff engage in high-quality interactions with children. They repeatedly look for ways to extend children's knowledge and skills. For example, at lunchtime, staff ask older children to share their excellent knowledge of foods and where they come from.

They encourage children to think of purple and 3D shaped vegetables they can name. They show great confidence to express that 'peas are spheres', and 'red cabbage' is purple. This contributes towards their advancing knowledge and mathematical skills.

Staff identify children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) quickly. The support for children with SEND and those who speak English as an additional language is excellent. The manager and staff liaise with specialist teachers and other professionals to plan timely and successful interventions.

The gaps in these children's attainment are rapidly closing as they benefit from high-quality educational intervention and one-to-one care support.Children behave extremely well. Staff provide sensitive support for children to self-regulate their behaviour.

They have strong attachments with their key person, which ensures they feel secure and underpins their ability to learn exceedingly well. For example, staff clearly celebrate and discuss children's achievements daily, such as the 'star of the day' initiative. Children are given a special chair to sit in and a crown to wear all day, which elicits beams of joy and pride.

Reflective practice is exemplary. The owner and managers have a clear and ambitious vision for the setting. They take account of the views of staff, children and parents in setting targets and aims for the future.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The management team and staff have an excellent knowledge of how to safeguard children in their care. All staff understand the signs and symptoms that may indicate a child could be at risk of harm.

They know who to contact if they have a child protection concern regarding a child or an adult. Regular safeguarding training and ongoing reflection at staff meetings ensures that staff's knowledge and understanding are up to date. The management team implement robust and comprehensive recruitment procedures.

These include stringent background checks and a thorough induction process to ensure that children are cared for by suitable adults. Children are learning to keep themselves safe. They remind each other to walk inside, so they do not bang into their friends.