Banana Moon Day Nursery Baddesley Ensor

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are incredibly happy at the nursery. Staff respond sensitively to children when they become upset or when they are putting them to sleep. For example, staff shower children with lots of care, love and cuddles. This contributes to how well children settle. Staff are consistent in how they manage children's behaviour. They use distraction and positive reinforcement to promote positive behaviours. Staff softly remind children of the rules while they play. Consequently, children behave extremely well.

Children are provided with an array of rich activities, both indoors and outdoors. This supports them to make good progress across all areas of learning. Babies are provided with lots of space to build on their physical development. As a result, they are beginning to crawl or take their first steps. Babies enjoy exploring the musical instruments. They smile and laugh as they bang and shake the instruments, while staff sing familiar rhymes. Younger children use their imagination. For example, they pretend to feed the dolls and put them to sleep. Older children enjoy messy activities, such as play dough and clay. They use tools to make a range of different objects. Children enjoy their time outside. They play cooperatively together as they ride on the bikes, play on the swings or have races.

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

• The manager is ambitious and has clear oversight of the nursery. She has a wealth of experience which shines through. She uses her knowledge, as well as recent research, to make continuous improvements to the overall quality of the nursery.
• Staff speak extremely positively about how leaders support their well-being. Leaders use supervisions to help identify further training needs for staff. However, staff do not fully utilise what they have learned from training to help further improve their teaching practice. This does not enable them to raise the quality of teaching children receive to the highest possible level.
• Staff find out children's starting points from parents. They then continue to observe and assess the children to help identify any gaps in their learning. Staff use what they know about each child to help plan activities for them. However, at times staff do not set up activities or mealtimes in a way that fully promotes children's independence.
• The curriculum is centred on each child and covers all areas of learning. Leaders place focus on supporting children's communication and language development. Staff are animated storytellers. They add expression and different voices when reading stories. Children develop a love of books. Even the youngest children independently reach for books. They carefully turn the pages as they look at the pictures in the story. Older children eagerly join in and recall parts of familiar stories.
• The nursery's special educational needs coordinator (SENCO) speaks confidently and passionately about her role. She supports staff to observe, assess and plan activities for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The SENCO promptly makes referrals to other professionals where concerns are raised about a child's development. This ensures that children receive the specialist help they require quickly.
• Leaders are keen to support parents to learn how they can keep their child safe, healthy and thriving in their development. Staff use a range of methods to keep parents fully informed about their child's overall progress. This helps to consolidate children's learning. Parents speak very highly of the nursery. They comment their children love to attend and form very close bonds with the staff.
• Staff support children to learn about what makes them different and unique. Children confidently talk about their family dynamics and draw portraits of their family members. Leaders are keen for children to integrate with and join initiatives that support the area they serve. Staff provide lots of opportunities for children to learn about other cultures as they go out and about in their local community. This supports children to learn about the wider world.
• Children have daily access to fresh air and outdoor play. They eat balanced and nutritious meals. Oral health is a priority at the nursery. Leaders provide families with resource packs and information on the importance of keeping teeth clean. This practice helps to embed healthy lifestyles from an early age.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance how activities and mealtimes are set up to support children to become even more independent
• support staff to utilise what they have learned from training to further raise the quality of teaching practice to the highest possible level.