Banana Moon Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children at this nursery are good communicators. Staff place a strong emphasis on developing children's language skills. Children sit and share stories. They show interest as staff add expression while they read books. Children ask questions about what they can see and are given opportunities to explore this further. They say that they can see 'pizza' and staff and other children examine the pages to try to find items that look like pizza. Children enjoy this and laugh together as they describe what they can see.

Babies have lots of space to move around and develop their physical skills. They are encouraged to crawl to different activities and join in play. They hold up wooden rings and copy as staff play a game of peekaboo with them. They laugh as staff say 'boo' and repeat the action to continue with the game. When babies become upset, staff go to them and provide comfort. Children settle quickly as they have formed strong attachments with staff.

Older children enjoy joining in yoga activities. They learn about spatial awareness and develop their balancing skills as they practise standing on one leg and reaching down to the floor. They join in with some calming breathing techniques and start to understand the effects of exercise on their bodies as they listen to their heartbeat.

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

• The curriculum is well understood by staff. They plan activities around what they know about children's current level of development and what they need to learn next. For example, staff identify that some children need to develop their fine motor skills. As a result, they plan a threading activity for children to practise this skill. This means that children make good progress in their learning.
• Children learn to be independent. Even young children have opportunities to serve their own food and drinks at mealtimes. However, there are inconsistencies in practice among staff. For example, while some staff give children jugs of water to pour their own drink, others do this for them. Therefore, children do not develop their independence as quickly as they could.
• Children generally behave well. They follow instructions from staff when they are reminded of behaviour expectations. However, some staff do not always reinforce what they want children to do when they display unwanted behaviour. This means that the messages that children receive are inconsistent across the nursery. Consequently, this does not support children to fully understand what is expected of them.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported. Staff use observation effectively to identify gaps in children's development. They work closely with parents to create a plan of support to help children to make progress. They liaise with other professionals to review children's development and gain advice about how they can support children further. They consider how to deploy staff in the best way to work closely with children. This means that children acquire the support they need quickly.
• Parents are generally happy with the care that their children receive. They say that their children are happy to attend, and describe the staff as friendly. However, some parents do not know who their child's key person is and comment that they do not always receive communication about what their children are learning. This is particularly apparent for parents who speak English as an additional language. This means that children do not experience consistency of care between nursery and home.
• Staff develop their own knowledge and skills. They receive regular supervision meetings with managers where training needs are identified. Staff feel supported by managers, which increases the confidence they have in their capabilities. This means that children experience learning opportunities that continually improve.
• Managers have a good oversight of the nursery. They evaluate the learning opportunities offered to children across the nursery and take action to make improvements. For example, they have recently made some enhancements to the outdoor area. As a result, children have access to a high-quality learning environment.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen partnerships with parents so that all parents are well informed about their children's experiences at nursery
• develop the consistency of practice across the staff team so that children experience high-quality learning.