1st Friends day nursery and creche Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children and babies receive a warm welcome on arrival. Staff provide a calm and nurturing environment, which enables children to feel safe and secure. Children and babies settle quickly and demonstrate their strong bonds with staff. Staff know children extremely well and are attentive to their needs. Children are confident to explore and show a positive attitude to their learning.

Children enjoy their time outside in the garden and have good opportunities to exercise in the fresh air. Staff are highly vigilant and teach children the importance of managing risks. For example, children safely manoeuvre across the balance beams. Children have a can-do attitude and understand their own physical capabilities. Children and babies gain good balance and coordination skills. Babies are effectively challenged to stand, enhancing their core skills and leg muscles ready for walking.

Children and babies are developing a love of reading and enjoy a wide range of books and nursery rhymes. They select books independently and listen as staff enthusiastically read stories. Children join in with familiar words and phrases. They thoroughly enjoy using props to bring stories to life. Babies listen intently as staff sing to them, joining in with the familiar sounds. In addition to this, children and parents borrow books to read together at home, which promotes children's continued learning.

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

• The manager and staff are committed to providing high-quality care and education for all children. They reflect on the nursery and plan a broad curriculum that supports children effectively to make good progress. Additional funding is used appropriately to meet children's needs. For instance, the manager identifies and buys resources to promote children's individual learning needs. Staff carefully follow children's interests. They use information from observations and assessments to plan interesting activities.
• Staff build on daily opportunities to develop children's speaking and listening skills. They narrate as children play and clearly emphasise key words in their interactions to help enhance their vocabulary. For example, children learn words such as 'opposite' and 'boasting'. Staff interactions with babies are gentle and endearing. Babies delight as staff playfully engage. This helps their understanding and speaking skills.
• Children's independence is supported well. For instance, children enjoy making choices about their play based on their interests and clear away after themselves during lunchtime. Children's health and hygiene are also supported effectively. This is evident as children wash their own hands before eating and have
• Inspection report: 1st Friends day nursery and creche Ltd 3 March 2023 2 discussions about healthy foods and the importance of good oral health. This helps children to understand the importance of living a healthy lifestyle.
• Parents are complimentary of the nursery. They comment that staff regularly share information with them about their child's learning and development. Staff provide ideas for parents on how to support their child's continued learning at home. Parents say that since their children have attended, their language development and confidence have improved. Parents discuss how they appreciate the opportunities provided to be directly involved in their children's learning such as attending story workshops with their children.
• Staff organise small-group activities well. For instance, children thoroughly enjoy an interactive story time and make their own predictions relating to the ending of the book. However, at times, during whole-group activities, staff do not fully prepare or position themselves effectively. Consequently, some children cannot hear staff clearly and therefore cannot fully access the learning.
• Children generally behave well. They respond positively as staff encourage them to participate in the tidying up. However, staff do not fully support children to develop their listening skills. For example, children are excited to contribute to discussions and answer questions. This sometimes results in them speaking loudly over one another or interrupting before eating peers.
• Children learn about different country traditions, events and celebrations beyond their own. They explore positive cultural images, books and resources and learn to value the differences and similarities. For instance, they enjoy and benefit from connections and regular updates with a previous member of staff who now completes charity work in Cambodia. Children gain a good understanding of the wider world.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• consider the organisation of group activities to ensure staff maximise all learning opportunities
• support staff to consistently develop children's listening and turn-taking skills.
• Inspection report: 1st Friends day nursery and creche Ltd 3 March 2023 3