5 Steps Community Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are warmly greeted by the managers and practitioners on their arrival. Settling-in procedures are effective and new children develop secure attachments with their key person. This helps children's emotional development. Children are happy and have close bonds with practitioners. They demonstrate that they feel safe and secure. Practitioners work closely with parents to identify children's starting points and gather information about children's interests and what they can already do. They use this information well, overall, to plan an effective curriculum.

Overall, children behave well and show respect to each other and their environment. They say 'please' and 'thank you' and help at tidy-up time. Practitioners are positive role models. They speak to each other with respect, and they ask children before they wipe their noses and change nappies.

Children are energetic and keen to learn. Even the youngest children show confidence as they explore their environment and interact with their peers. Toddlers communicate well with practitioners, using their words to express their needs. Children develop their small muscles as they explore play dough or practise their mark-making skills. Pre-school children listen intently as practitioners read stories. They are given time to ask questions to extend their learning and comment on the story, to demonstrate the knowledge they have gained. Children make good progress from their starting points.

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

• The managers have worked hard since the last inspection to make significant changes to the setting. The training and professional development opportunities that practitioners have received has made a positive impact on delivering an effective curriculum.
• Key persons know their key children well. They plan the curriculum based on children's interests and individual learning needs. The wide range of activities practitioners provide supports children to meet their next steps in development.
• Children have a range of opportunities to develop independence skills, but this is not offered consistently. For example, older children pour their drinks at snack time, but they are given water bottles or beakers at lunch time. Children are not given knives at lunch, so they do not learn how to use a knife to cut food or push food onto their fork. This impacts on their ability to develop strong self-help skills, ready for their future move to school.
• Practitioners build on children's language development. For instance, when learning about the Antarctic, children explore ice and arctic play animals. Practitioners explain that 'the ice is melting because of the temperature', and talk about the different animals. Books and pictures are also used to encourage
• Inspection report: 5 Steps Community Nursery 7 February 2023 2 children to talk together and use their new vocabulary. This helps children to become effective communicators.
• Children are provided with a range of opportunities to build on their experiences. For example, the managers invite visitors in, such as a football coach, to help children develop new skills. Children also visit the local park and farm and the managers arrange an annual trip for the children and their families.
• Children learn about the different cultures and languages represented in the nursery. Practitioners share dolls, materials and songs from their own culture. Practitioners help children to learn about different cultural festivals. Resources such as books and posters reflect the children in the nursery.
• Children have lots of opportunities to develop their physical skills. They have regular access to the outdoor space and use this to run, climb, kick balls and use ride-along toys. They manage their coordination as they climb up and down the climbing equipment and navigate around obstacles as they run.
• Most children behave well and develop good friendships. Practitioners support children to resolve minor conflicts with methods, such as encouraging children to take deep breaths when they are overwhelmed, gathering the views of the children involved and acknowledging their feelings. However, practitioners do not use these methods consistently. This hinders children from learning how to manage their emotions and behaviour effectively.
• Parents speak highly of the nursery and the support they receive from the practitioners and managers. They describe it as a welcoming and friendly nursery, and they comment on how well their children settled and the care given by the children's key person.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• improve consistency in how children are supported to develop independence and self-help skills, particularly during mealtimes
• support children to resolve conflict situations and acknowledge their own and other people's feelings, to help them learn to manage their own behaviour and
• Inspection report: 5 Steps Community Nursery 7 February 2023 3 emotions.
• Inspection report: 5 Steps Community Nursery 7 February 2023 4