Blh Childcare Unit

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The nursery is well led and managed and children are safe and well cared for. There is a clear and precisely implemented curriculum for children's personal, social and emotional development. This provides children with an excellent foundation for building secure attachments, respectful relationships and developing a positive sense of themselves. From young babies, children very quickly develop strong bonds with staff. As children move through the nursery, they continue to develop these relationships and begin to understand their emotions. When children reach preschool, they are brimming with confidence and self-assurance and are wonderful friends to one another.

Staff ensure all children, including those who may need additional support, are provided with an ambitious curriculum. The manager, who is also the special educational needs coordinator, acts swiftly to ensure children receive the professional support they need. The manager and staff fully understand the needs of the children and plan the curriculum to meet these. As a result, children are engaged in their learning, keen to lead their own play and make good progress.

Staff are good role models and help children to understand the expectations of their behaviour. Throughout the day, staff discuss, including with children, the routine, what is happening next and what this means for the children. This helps children to feel valued and included while promoting their feelings of familiarity and security.

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

• The manager has a good understanding of what she wants children to learn. This is well informed from secure knowledge of children's needs and effectively builds on their knowledge and skills over time. Children make good progress in their learning and are well prepared for school.
• In the main, intentions for children's learning are well shared with staff, who implement the curriculum with great success. This is particularly the case for children's personal, social and emotional development. However, some aspects of the curriculum are less well understood by staff. As a result, these areas lack consistent implementation and are not as highly effectively sequenced for all children as they move through the nursery.
• Overall, children's communication and language skills are promoted very well. Staff sing with children and read stories as part of the daily routine. Young children enjoy using finger puppets that staff provide to add interest and engagement for children as they sing. Older children use a wide vocabulary as they talk about the names of the flowers they have been exploring. Children become confident and able communicators.
• All children benefit from the strong settling-in procedures. Key persons work closely with parents from the very start, with a focus on understanding the needs of the child and family. As a result, all children, including babies, are happy, content and responsive to the learning opportunities available.
• Children are supported in their understanding of healthy lifestyles. They learn about good oral health, why it's important to wash their hands and healthy diet choices. This good understanding supports children in leading their own healthy lifestyles.
• Children's confidence and feelings of security enable a curious mind. They independently stretch their imaginations as they add resources to their play from around the room. They enthusiastically accept challenges, such as finding the matching amount of items to the numbers printed on the flower pictures. These skills are of great importance as children continue their education.
• There is good support in place for staff, including for their professional development and practice. Strategies, such as peer observations and feedback from the manager, help staff to continually improve their teaching. Good opportunities for training further support staff in the development of their skills and knowledge that then impact on the quality of education for children.
• The manager and staff team work well together to ensure children are kept safe. The premises are secure and subject to frequent risk assessment. Staff are confident in how to respond to a safeguarding concern and how to follow nursery procedures for accident reporting. Children are well cared for and their safety is prioritised.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• share intentions for all aspects of the curriculum so that staff have a firm and common understanding and what it means for their practice.