Blossoms Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and settled at this welcoming and friendly nursery. Staff happily greet the children on arrival. Children confidently separate from their parents and eagerly settle to their chosen play with their friends. The staff are good role models, and the children behave well. Staff use a consistent, calm and gentle tone with each other and the children. This fosters respectful relationships. Staff have high expectations and encourage children to listen to each other, share and take turns.

There is a clear focus on supporting children's communication and language development. Staff surround the children with language as they play and in their day-to-day routines. The sound of singing echoes throughout the nursery and staff sing at every opportunity. Babies learn simple musical rhymes. They laugh and join in with the actions that accompany the rhymes. Older children select their favourite songs from a selection of song cards. They confidently sing the words and do the actions. Books are an integral part of the nursery's curriculum and are available for children to access independently in the environment. Staff sit with children to read together. They use animation and expression in their voices, which supports children to develop a love for reading from an early age.

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

• Leaders and staff have a robust settling-in procedure for children. They gather relevant information, such as children's interests and care needs. Staff know the children well and can talk about where they are in their development. Staff use this information to plan for the next steps in children's learning to support them to make progress from their starting points.
• The management team show the highest regard for staff, ensuring they feel genuinely appreciated. The manager has completed training to support mental health and makes sure that staff well-being is a priority. Staff have regular supervisions and meetings to support each other and share ideas. This helps them in fulfilling their roles and developing their practice.
• Staff implement a broad curriculum, which is designed to provide children with a range of experiences to support their development. Staff have a good understanding of what they want children to learn. However, some activities for older children are overly adult led. They do not have as many opportunities as the younger children to engage in self-initiated activities to enable them to develop their own ideas and follow their own interests in play.
• Children with special educational needs and/ or disabilities (SEND) are well supported. They form close bonds with their key person and leaders ensure they receive the appropriate support from outside agencies. As a result, children with SEND make good progress.
• Staff give children many opportunities to develop their physical skills. For example, they place furniture purposefully for babies to have places to pull themselves up to standing and to cruise around. Staff support younger children to use the pedals on the tricycles and older children negotiate space well as they ride bicycles. This helps them build their large-muscle strength.
• Staff interact positively with children and engage in conversations at mealtimes and in group activities. However, occasionally, staff do not encourage the quieter children to contribute and join in. More confident children capture staff's attention. This means that quieter children do not always get the chance to have their voices heard.
• Staff celebrate the diversity in the setting. For example, they plan opportunities for children to explore a range of multicultural festivals throughout the year and learn about one another's cultural background. This helps children to develop an understanding and appreciation of equality and diversity.
• Children enjoy opportunities to socialise and explore in the wider community. For instance, they regularly visit a local care home to share stories and take part in creative activities with the residents. These positive experiences encourage intergenerational learning.
• Parents speak highly of the nursery. They comment on the warm and nurturing relationships between staff and children. Parents receive regular updates on their children's development and attend parent evenings to update them on their children's achievements. They say the nursery is an extension of their own family.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen the support for quieter children to allow them to respond in group activities and discussions to build on their confidence and to enable them to contribute to conversations
• develop strategies for staff to ensure children have time to lead their own play to help them develop their own ideas and build on their own interests.