Ashbourne Day Nurseries at Cheltenham

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff build close relationships with children and their families and get to know them well. Leaders greet families upon arrival. They talk to children about their day ahead and always make themselves available to parents should they need to talk or share information. This enables children to settle quickly and feel safe and secure in the nursery environment. Parents leave their children knowing they are safe, happy and well supported.

Leaders and staff construct and implement a broad and ambitious curriculum, which they tailor to the needs of each child. Babies develop their strength and large physical movements when they dance and copy actions to music, for example. Staff use their extensive knowledge of the babies to ensure they all get the best from the activity. Older children develop their hand and arm muscle strength for early writing when they tip and pour ingredients to make play dough. Staff skilfully weave a variety of learning opportunities throughout the activity. For example, staff develop children's mathematical skills when they ask children to pour 'half a cup of flour' into the mixture. Additionally, children learn to reason with each other when they decide together what colour they would like the play dough to be.

Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour. As a result, children behave well and respect their peers. Babies enjoy interactions with their friends and excitedly join in with routine activities. In the garden, older children create games together when they push trolleys, collect 'shopping', and go to their 'holiday home'. Children love to play together. They listen to and respect each other's ideas.

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

• Staff report that the leadership team is very supportive. Leaders work closely with the team to ensure they have the guidance and training they need to fulfil their roles. There are regular staff meetings, where they refresh safeguarding knowledge and discuss curriculum intent. Additionally, staff have access to an online training portal, where they enrol onto courses to enhance their practice. Staff are happy and enjoy their roles.
• Leaders and staff provide good support for all children that attend. Key persons know their children very well and quickly identify if there are any gaps in development. They consult with those who have a responsibility for overseeing the needs of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and create targets and strategies to help close any gaps in learning. They work closely with parents and external agencies to ensure children get the support they need and have a positive experience at nursery.
• Staff provide children with lots of opportunities to be physically active and explore the local community. In the garden, children develop their balance and take safe risks when they explore the obstacle course with staff close by to support them. Staff teach children how to be safe when they go on walks in the local area and access the library, where they develop their love of books. Children develop their confidence in a range of environments.
• There are good partnerships with parents. Parents speak highly of leaders and staff and the 'excellent' support their children receive. They state that their children make good progress and staff provide regular updates on their child's care and learning via the online system and at the end of each day. Staff invite parents into the nursery to share their cultures and traditions to ensure families feel valued.
• Staff engage children in meaningful learning experiences. They foster children's love of books from an early age. Staff read rhyming stories to babies with excitement and wait for babies to copy their sounds. Older children sit with staff and have a 'picnic' in the home corner. Staff encourage children to recall their own experiences when they all share what their favourite sandwich is and what toppings they like to have on pizzas. However, at times, staff do not use opportunities during play to extend children's learning even further. For example, when children say to staff they like sharks when looking at a book, staff do not extend discussions to ask why or talk about sharks' habitat. Additionally, when children attempt to build structures with blocks, staff simply tell them how to build the structure without allowing children time to think of their own ideas.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to extend children's learning during play, to help develop children's thinking and enable them to share their own ideas.