Armadillos Preschool And Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The nursery is bright and spacious, and children arrive happy and eager to learn. Key persons recognise children's needs and are warm and welcoming. This makes children feel safe and secure. Children have access to high-quality equipment and an ambitious curriculum with a variety of inviting and interesting activities. Babies show curiosity and access resources freely through low storage. This supports them to make choices and develop independence skills. Outdoor learning is exceptionally well planned and organised. For example, when pre-school children investigate and explore their natural environment, they use artefacts, magnifying glasses and real snails. They are taught to handle the mini-beasts with care. Toddlers have a large area for digging and choose which fruit and vegetables to plant, enhancing their understanding of the natural world.

Children are supported well, overall. This includes children who speak English as an additional language and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff work well with parents and other agencies to improve children's development and help them make good progress in their learning. Older children play well with their younger peers and work well together. They respond well to boundaries and demonstrate good behaviour. Staff recognise the impact the pandemic has had on the children, in particular their health and well-being. They used funding to obtain resources, such as a sports coach. This has supported children's physical development and helps them to engage better with each other.

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

• Partnerships with parents are strong. They feel welcomed and supported, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Parents enjoy receiving updates about their children's progress, including regular photos. The setting is reviewing the handover arrangements and considering how to further welcome parents back on board.
• Staff provide an interesting curriculum which is designed to give children a wealth of rich experiences. For example, children learn to make their own play dough and explore texture, shape and print. However, group times are not planned effectively enough to focus on the skills younger children need to learn next. In addition, high noise levels and other distractions mean that children become disengaged and they do not fully benefit from the activity.
• Managers have strong links with organisations within the local community that support staff and offer opportunities, such as free training and resources. This is also utilised to benefit the children and to extend their learning. For example, all children received free books during the pandemic.
• Staff identify and address any possible gaps in children's learning at an early stage. They liaise well with other professionals to get children the help they need, alongside the close involvement of parents.
• Staff help children who speak English as an additional language to acquire good speaking skills through regular songs and music. They offer good opportunities for children to hear and use their home language in the setting, ensuring that children feel valued and settle in quickly.
• Staff successfully help children to understand the importance of good health and oral hygiene through activities and routines. This begins in the baby room where they are encouraged to brush their teeth with songs and rhymes. Babies make brushing teeth motions before they are given the brush, demonstrating that this is a familiar occurrence in their routine.
• The manager encourages her staff to reflect on their practice. She regularly evaluates the setting, and the staff work together to make changes and improvements. This is done through allocating each new staff member a mentor and through regular supervisions and peer-to-peer observations.
• Staff develop strong bonds with children and support their emotional needs well. For example, children who find it difficult to settle benefit from having extra time with their key person and access comfort objects from home. This enables them to feel more emotionally secure.
• Staff support babies' early exploration well. The environment is planned and prepared at their level. For example, babies have access to a large area with lots of resources in low storage and baskets. These are labelled with bright big pictures. Babies recognise the equipment and access it independently.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• improve the implementation of group activities so that they reflect younger children's age and stage of development and support their learning to a higher level.