Aldersyde Day Nursery Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy, well settled and thoroughly enjoy their time at the nursery. They are greeted by staff who take an interest in their morning. Children are eager to go to their room to participate in the activities. Staff know children and their families very well. They instinctively adapt their practice and approach to ensure that each child's needs are met and that they are nurtured as individuals. Children show that they feel safe and secure. They build strong bonds with staff, seeking them out for reassurance when they feel sad or to share excitement when they achieve something new. Children show good levels of attention and curiosity. They follow simple instructions given by staff, such as forming a line when it is ready to return inside. Children learn to take turns and share as they play. They enjoy a social experience at nursery and are forming friendships with their peers.

Children enjoy varied opportunities that help them practise their physical skills. They especially enjoy coordinating their bodies to climb up a slide and staff offer constant encouragement. Staff support the youngest children well as they learn how to crawl, stand and step. There is a focus to help children secure their gross motor skills. Staff understand that children must first develop large arm movements before building fine motor skills and beginning to develop a pencil grip or to use scissors skilfully.

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

• The manager has established a clear curriculum that helps children build on what they know and can do to help prepare them for the move to school and life in modern Britain. Staff understand the learning intent of the curriculum. They plan well, using their knowledge of the children and typical child development to sequence children's learning. All children make good progress in relation to their starting points.
• Babies and children develop a love of reading. Staff use books and plan activities around them that encompass the seven areas of learning. Throughout the nursery, children regularly choose to sit and read a book for fun, independently or with others.
• Parents are highly complementary about the staff and management. They comment on the good communication and how accommodating the team are. Together, staff think of many ways to support parents, such as a parent lending library. Themed 'activity bags' help with different changes children may experience at home, such as new siblings or first pets.
• Staff plan stimulating and accessible learning environments. This supports children to become active learners. Babies explore excitedly with shaving foam on an illuminated table to enhance the experience. Younger children paint on bubble wrap, as they mix colours and explore with textures. Toddlers explore with mark making as they add animals to gloop and then use various resources to wash them. Children explore and experiment with how resources react with water such as absorption. Staff support by adding further resources as needed. Older children develop a vivid imagination; staff provide props that reflect home. They explore with building rockets to go to the moon, moving confidently between various areas as they land back home and make tea.
• Staff continually assess children's progress so that any gaps in their learning are planned for. Small-group sessions successfully focus on targeted support for children who require additional support. For example, children gain confidence in speaking with friends. They can share favourite songs. Staff's positive reassurances and praise help children to feel secure and to have a go.
• Overall, staff support children's communication and language skills well. Staff model language and narrate activities, to extend children's understanding of language. However, at times, staff do not encourage children to talk and express themselves so that their language and communication skills are fully enhanced throughout the day.
• Staff support children's mathematical development both through focused activities and by talking to them about number and counting through their interactions. For example, when children make 'tea', staff ask how many they will need for their friends. They ask them to predict and then count.
• Management provide staff with a thorough induction and training opportunities to enhance and develop their knowledge and skills. However, the ongoing coaching and mentoring for staff, is not targeted enough to further strengthen their practice and help raise the quality of education to the highest level.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• encourage staff provide children with more opportunities to talk and express themselves to further enhance the development of their growing vocabulary and language skills.
• ensure that professional development opportunities for staff are targeted more effectively to improve the quality of education even further.