Blue Sky Day Nursery (Cottingham)

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and settled in this inclusive and nurturing nursery. They build strong bonds with staff, who are kind, caring and compassionate. Staff welcome families as they arrive at the setting with genuine warmth and excitement. Practitioners offer reassurance and cuddles as children settle into their new provision, which helps them to feel safe and secure.

Leaders have designed a clear curriculum that builds on children's skills and knowledge as they move through the nursery. Staff use their knowledge and observations of the children's interests to plan learning experiences. Children benefit from a wide range of exciting trips and adventures in the local community, which are planned to help them learn about the world around them. For example, they take trips on the train and bus to the local art gallery, park and fair.

Children enjoy the healthy, balanced and nutritious meals and snacks prepared by the nursery cook. They benefit from daily fresh air and learn about where food comes from as they grow and harvest produce from the nursery's vegetable plot. Staff remind children of the setting's key rules, such as 'walking feet' and 'kind hands'. Children behave well and are supported to develop their social skills. They are learning to take turns, care for others and share toys.

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

• Children enjoy opportunities to play outside. The youngest children are provided with opportunities to develop their physical skills and coordination. They learn to navigate the available space on ride-on toys and push-along walkers.
• Children are developing good levels of independence. Toddler-aged children attempt to put on their own aprons before mealtimes and they are encouraged to use a knife and fork when eating.
• Staff engage children in a variety of songs and activities that promote language development. They narrate alongside children's play, modelling words and new vocabulary such as 'snip' and 'delicious'.
• Staff are well supported by leaders and managers. Leaders place a high priority on staff well-being and have a range of interventions in place to support this. Leaders have procedures in place to support staff's continuous professional development. However, these have not yet been fully implemented to ensure targeted coaching and support is provided when inconsistencies in staff's teaching practice are identified. For example, practitioners' interactions with children and some of the activities provided do not always engage children effectively. There is more robust monitoring of the interventions being used with children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) in the pre-school room.
• The setting has robust procedures in place to ensure all children's dietary needs and allergens are managed well. For instance, a colour-coded bib and place mat are used to help identify children with allergies, which helps to keep them safe.
• Leaders and managers have designed a SEND pathway that ensures that children with emerging needs are identified and supported. Staff demonstrate that they know children with SEND well. The setting works in close partnership with parents and specialist partners to support the learning of children with SEND.
• Children are familiar with the routines. They wash their hands and follow their peers to sit at the table for lunch. However, during some mealtimes and snack times, staff do not consistently organise these routine experiences well. This results in short periods of time where some staff's positive engagement with children is reduced. For example, children are seated and then staff go and collect lunch, resulting in some children becoming restless as they wait for their food to arrive. At other times, staff are continuing to collect additional food or serve meals. During these times, although children are supervised, staff are unable to offer quality support and assistance to all children consistently.
• Effective ongoing communication with parents helps to ensure that there is a consistent approach to their child's care and learning. Staff provide parents with personalised daily information about their child's day. For example, they share information about what their child has been doing, their meals, sleep routines and intimate care. Key persons share children's progress regularly with parents. Families are invited to attend a termly parents' evening. Parents share that they are very happy with the care their children receive in the nursery. They believe that their child is safe and well cared for by staff.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• monitor staff practice more closely, providing targeted coaching and support so that learning opportunities are consistently delivered and effectively engage all children
• consider the organisation of daily routines, such as snack and mealtimes, to ensure that all children continue to benefit from high quality staff interactions.