Banana Moon Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy to attend and clearly have positive relationships with staff and their peers. Babies show confidence as they explore their surroundings, knowing familiar adults are close by. Children who are less confident are given reassurance from the kind and caring staff, which helps them to feel safe and secure. Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour. They are good role models, and children behave well. Staff plan activities that encourage children to share and take turns. Children are supported by staff to learn how to manage conflicts, should they arise, assisting children to find appropriate solutions. Staff also praise children often, which enhances their confidence and self-esteem.

Children love to be outside and show good physical development. Children take age-appropriate risks and manage these independently. They climb steps with ease, and staff offer gentle reminders to 'take care' when doing this. Babies enjoy the feel of the ground beneath their feet and rolling balls to familiar adults.

Staff promote children's independence by offering consistent praise and age-appropriate responsibilities. For example, older children serve themselves at mealtimes and help to clear away their plates when they are finished. Babies are encouraged to access their water independently and learn how to wash their hands before meals.

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

• Staff use observations to get to know children and plan activities linked to their interests. However, assessment is not yet used consistently across the team. While most staff identify next steps that support children's progress, learning targets are sometimes too broad. This can make it difficult to check what children have actually learned. This means some children do not benefit as well as possible from sharply focused support.
• Children are offered a healthy and balanced diet in accordance with their dietary needs. Staff work closely with parents to ensure information is sourced before children attend regarding any allergies and cultural preferences. Good systems are in place to ensure that children are only offered food appropriate to their individual needs and dietary requirements to support their good health.
• The routines across the nursery generally offer children good levels of structure and an awareness of what to expect during the day. However, staff do not always manage transitions consistently well, which impacts on children's engagement and learning. For example, when children become engrossed in a creative activity, staff want to move them on to the next thing without giving them time to finish. As a result, children have less time to focus and engage.
• Staff ensure all children have daily access to the outdoors and encourage them to develop their social skills. For example, older children demonstrate high levels of energy as they play chasing games, developing their coordination and balance, and comment, 'You won't catch me.' Children show good imagination as they play in the role-play kitchen and pretend to make food for staff.
• Overall, staff support children to develop their communication as they play. Older children begin to understand the need to listen to their friends and wait for their turn to speak during circle time. However, there are times that staff forget to model and extend language during younger children's play. This means that not all children are given opportunities to build on their speaking skills, including children who speak English as an additional language.
• Strong partnerships with parents are nurtured by management and the staff team. They give parents and children a warm welcome as they arrive. Staff ensure parents are provided with regular updates on their children throughout the day, regarding their emotional well-being as well as sharing successes. Parents comment that this helps to reassure them that their children are happy and enjoying their day.
• Management have a clear vision for the nursery and what they want to provide for children. They undertake supervisions with staff, regularly observe practice and spend time in the rooms, role modelling good teaching. Staff speak highly of management and the good support they offer them. They say they have regular meetings and are offered opportunities to build on their professional development and that management's door is 'always open'. Staff report positive well-being and feel supported in their role.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance the use of assessment information so that all staff consistently identify and support children's next steps to precisely reflect their learning needs
• identify more effective ways to manage transitions during the day so that staff give children more time to focus and engage on their learning
• enhance staff's awareness of how to promote and extend all children's vocabulary.