Banana Moon Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children form close attachments to staff and show they feel safe and secure in the nursery. Babies spend time exploring crispy rice cereal and flour. They pick the resources up and enjoy the sensation of them tricking through their fingers. Older children use dough to make cakes. They carefully use buttons for decorations and enjoy pretending that it is someone's birthday. Young children show how they are learning how to take care of themselves. They know to look if any cars are moving before they cross the car park to the outdoor area.

Children become physically skilful and independent. They have access to the large outdoor space in all weathers. Children learn to put on their own coats and wellington boots. Older children move strategically across obstacle courses. They discuss how to manoeuvre safely from obstacle to obstacle. Children gain a sense of responsibility as they learn to serve their own meals, use cutlery and scrape their plates. Children's behaviour is good. They learn to be patient and take turns on the popular balance bikes. Children know that when the timer runs out it is another child's turn and they readily offer the bike to a friend.

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

• Staff identify children's individual learning needs and interests and, overall, plan a wide range of activities across all areas of learning. Good systems are in place to track children's progress. This helps staff to recognise any gaps in learning quickly. They take prompt action to support children who have additional needs. As a result, all children are making good progress and are well prepared for the next stage in their education.
• Children who speak English as an additional language make rapid progress in their communication and language skills. Staff learn words in children's home languages, which helps them to understand their needs. Parents visit the nursery to share stories and songs. This enables children to learn about and celebrate their differences.
• Partnerships with parents are very good. Parents say that staff share information with them about their children's progress and provide advice on how to support their learning at home. Parents state that their children are very happy to attend and benefit from spending lots of time outdoors.
• Children thrive in their communication and language development. As babies paint, staff use clear words such as 'dab, dab'. Babies quickly understand that this describes their actions and say the words themselves. Staff understand how to reinforce children's learning. For example, when blowing bubbles, they repeat the words 'bubble' and 'pop'. Staff then sing songs containing the same words, and babies begin to join in.
• Children are learning how to adopt healthy lifestyles. They talk about feeling warm and out of breath after running. Mealtimes are relaxed, sociable occasions. Children talk about the foods they like to eat and they know that fruit is a healthy choice. Children develop their personal independence as they learn to serve and feed themselves.
• The provider and her management team use robust recruitment and selection procedures. They carefully identify staff who are suitable and who share their vision for high-quality care and education. A comprehensive induction procedure helps staff to quickly understand their role and responsibilities. Any identified weaknesses in practice are dealt with quickly and fairly.
• The well-qualified provider supports her staff team very well and builds a positive atmosphere for staff well-being. She has strong systems to observe, monitor and supervise staff. Continuous professional development is given high priority. Staff talk confidently about how training has an impact on their practice.
• Overall, staff support children's learning well and are attentive to their emotional and care needs. However, staff do not always have the highest expectations for what the pre-school children can learn. At times, the curriculum is too narrow and staff do not make the best use of spontaneous learning opportunities. They do not always recognise when more effective learning could happen in the extensive outdoor area. This results in some children not being consistently engaged in effective learning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance staff skills and knowledge in strengthening the curriculum for pre-school children, to extend and challenge children's learning.