Baytree Park Private Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive at the setting with confidence. They smile with delight as their key person greets them with open arms at the door. Staff provide children with a well-rounded curriculum that, overall, builds on what they already know and can do. Babies move their bodies to the rhythm as they listen to songs and rhymes. They show their excitement as they squeal and giggle with staff and clap their hands. Babies explore musical instruments and puppets. This helps to bring the songs and stories to life and promotes their engagement. Two-year-old children beam with joy as they explore messy play activities. They tell staff that they are making milkshakes for their friends. Staff offer children resources, such as cups and jugs, to enhance their play further. This helps children to develop their imaginative play skills. Older children enjoy group sessions, where they manipulate dough to music. They use their hands to stretch, squeeze and pinch the dough as they singalong to their favourite songs. Children concentrate intently as they use scissors to snip and cut paper with skill. This helps children to develop their physical dexterity in readiness for writing.

Staff provide children with plenty of opportunities to play outdoors. Children enjoy the challenge of balancing carefully over a narrow beam. They soar around the painted road on their bicycles, showing coordination and balance. Overall, children follow the rules well. For example, they know to stop riding when children are crossing their painted road. Staff teach children how to keep themselves healthy. For example, children know to drink water and wear hats in the sun. This helps them to develop an understanding of how to take care of their bodies.

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

• Since the last inspection, leaders have welcomed support from the local authority. They have worked tirelessly to address the weaknesses and raise the quality of the setting. They now put in place thorough risk assessments each day to identify and remove hazards. Staff implement safer sleep and medication procedures. Leaders have made improvements to the maintenance of the premises to ensure suitability. These changes help to keep children safe.
• Staff are happy and state that they feel well supported. Leaders provide them with supervision sessions and some professional development opportunities. Leaders have started to provide staff with feedback on their practice. However, these systems are in the early stages and not all staff are given regular coaching and mentoring at present. This means that there are some minor inconsistencies in practice that leaders do not identify. For example, some staff do not implement the intended curriculum for children's independence skills in the pre-school room.
• Children's love of books is well promoted throughout all rooms. Younger children enjoy looking through books with adults and independently throughout the day. Staff bring stories to life with props and puppets. Older children make predictions and gasp with anticipation as staff turn the pages to see what happens to the gingerbread man. Older children go on trips to the local library. They enjoy taking books home to share with their families. This helps children to develop their early literacy skills.
• Staff show a good understanding of how to promote children's communication and language skills. For example, they allow children plenty of time to think and respond to questions. They introduce 'words of the week' that they use in repetition with children. Staff use some simple sign language that children respond well to. In addition, staff use picture boards to help children who need additional support to communicate their needs. This has a positive impact on children's communication and language development.
• Older children enjoy taking on extra responsibilities, such as being 'lunchtime helpers'. They help to organise the mealtime routines and ensure that the areas are clean and tidy. Staff promote children's behaviour generally well, such as offering children positive praise. However, staff working with two-year-old children are not consistent in helping children to understand their own and other's feelings. They do intervene quickly in any minor disputes, such as when children take toys or push others. However, they do not consistently help children to understand how their behaviour impacts on others.
• Staff build strong partnerships with parents. They ask parents to contribute to children's assessments from the start. Staff share information about children's learning and provide ideas about how they can support children at home, such as toilet training advice. Staff invite parents to join them for regular stay-and-play sessions. This helps parents to be involved in children's learning and ensures that they are updated about their child's progress and experiences at the setting.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance systems for coaching and mentoring staff, to help them to develop their practice and implement the intended curriculum more consistently
• support staff to use consistent approaches when managing children's behaviour, to help children to understand the impact their behaviour has on others.