Ashbourne Day Nurseries at Little Lever

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children's emotional development is very well supported. Staff offer warm and responsive care that helps children to gain confidence and resilience. The secure attachments staff build with children help them to blossom. Children and babies enjoy exploring the nursery, spending time with staff and other children. Lively activities provided by the staff promote children's happiness and well-being. For instance, children take great pleasure in joining in with dancing sessions as they develop their creativity and master control of their bodies.

Staff understand each child's unique and differing starting points. They carefully organise opportunities for children to develop the knowledge and skills they need for their futures in a fun way. Staff understand the setting's curriculum and ensure that all children develop the expected social and communication skills for their ages and stages. The consistent nursery routines further help children to consolidate their early learning.

Staff promote positive attitudes to learning by explaining carefully to children what they expect. For instance, staff teach children how to share and take turns. Consequently, children learn how to interact with one another respectfully. Staff also support children to learn how to manage their feelings appropriately. Children are well prepared for their onward education.

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

• The leadership and management of the setting are good. The provider has established a consistent staff team. This means that children and their parents benefit from dependable relationships with familiar staff. The provider has prioritised the development of a safe and secure environment for children to play and learn in. The leadership team has an accurate view of the quality of care and education. Self-evaluation has identified clear plans for future development to improve the professional development for staff even further.
• The provider supports staff to undertake mandatory training that helps them to fulfil their job roles. Staff receive an induction to ensure they understand the setting's policies and procedures. Supervision meetings are used to monitor and contribute to staff well-being. However, professional development is not focused precisely on improving the implementation of the high-quality curriculum. For example, some staff do not recognise that children can be different types of learners. This means that staff are not always aware of the best strategies to use, to fully extend children's knowledge and understanding.
• The well-planned curriculum helps children to get off to a good start. Staff focus carefully on promoting children's language skills. High-quality stories are read frequently. Staff capture children's interests in books and help them to learn new words and ideas as they talk about pictures they see. Children show their love of books as they explore them independently during quiet moments. Staff are skilled in creating a language-rich environment. They comment on what children are interested in and add vocabulary. This helps to build children's language effectively.
• Staff understand the importance of supporting children to become independent learners. They maintain an environment and routine that allows children the opportunity to undertake tasks that promote their self-care skills. For instance, children learn to put on their own clothing and collect their own equipment for mealtimes. Furthermore, staff provide open-ended play activities such as exploring water. This supports children to make independent choices about how to play and learn.
• Staff prioritise teaching children to develop personal and social skills that help them to develop constructive and respectful relationships. Staff model positive behaviour and highlight the desired behaviours. For instance, staff explain to children why they need to take turns and wait politely for others. This means children learn what is expected of them. Children begin to think about their own feelings and those of others.
• The setting works in partnership with parents. Staff share information about children's progress using a daily handover and providing summaries about each child's development. Staff also provide parents with ideas of activities they can try at home to extend their children's learning. They work with external agencies to support children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities to access early help.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to develop detailed knowledge about how young children learn, to enable all children to benefit fully from the activities and opportunities provided.