Beechwood Childcare Limited

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are warmly welcomed into this calm, nurturing nursery. Staff talk to children about their morning, and this helps them gain an understanding of how children are feeling. Children settle into the daily routine in their own time, and staff respect their choices. Children are exceptionally well behaved and show kindness and compassion to their friends. This helps all children feel valued and secure.

Children's language and communication are focus areas across the nursery. Staff introduce new words during daily routines and activities and include repetition in rhymes, stories and songs. This supports children to learn and remember more words. Children enthusiastically join in songs. For example, they sing 'everybody line up' as they get ready to go outside, and 'put your name on the door' as they are given their name cards. This instils a sense of fun and helps develop good routines that will support them as they move on to school.

Managers are highly motivated to ensure all children get the best start in life. They have embedded a clear curriculum that helps children build on what they already know to help them progress in their learning. Staff are included in planning for their key groups and are clear on the learning intentions of the curriculum.

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

• Managers recognise the value of promoting staff well-being and continuous professional development. The team meets regularly to discuss how best to meet the needs of the current children and agree focus areas for further development. Managers support staff through regular meetings and ongoing training to meet both personal and organisational needs. Staff work closely as a team and offer support to each other throughout the day. This builds positive working relationships and makes staff feel valued.
• Although managers are aware of the challenges in each room and provide extra support at key times, daily routines are not always managed as well as they could be. The frequency and timing of nappy changing and preparation of snack and mealtimes regularly takes staff from the room. This means that children do not always have the optimum level of support from staff during their learning, and their engagement in chosen activities is interrupted.
• Staff know children very well. They gather information from home about what a child can already do and their preferences during care routines. Staff build on this during close interactions to ensure children feel safe and secure. Children willingly go to their key person for a cuddle when they become overwhelmed. Staff help children to understand how their own emotions might affect their friends through gentle explanations and the use of visual aids. This helps children to develop strategies to manage their feelings that will support them in later life.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are extremely well supported. The nursery benefits from experienced staff who work closely with staff, parents and external agencies to ensure referrals are made in a timely manner. Staff are highly skilled at recognising when a child is ready for further challenges and provide tailored support to extend their learning. This means children receive targeted support at the earliest opportunity.
• The curriculum promotes learning across all areas. Children learn about the community in which they live during weekly visits to the library and learn about people who help us. Children enjoy learning positional language as they play outdoor games that involve responding to instructions to find the hospital or police station and to stop because of an emergency. This encourages good listening skills and spatial awareness.
• Children learn about the seasons. They excitedly hammer at the blue ice mounds to release the plastic animals inside and work collaboratively to manipulate the 'tricky' nozzle on the spray bottle that they use to dissolve the ice. Staff provide a narrative to help children understand the changes taking place and how this relates to the winter weather.
• Partnerships with parents are strong. Parents enjoy reading about their child's progress and seeing the daily photos that staff share with them. They value the daily conversations with their child's key person, which strengthens relationships and promotes two-way information-sharing.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review the frequency of planned care routines to further enhance staff interactions with children and support their learning experiences even more.