Bojangles Nursery (West Midlands) Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children demonstrate that they are happy and settled at this welcoming nursery. They have regular opportunities to exercise and be active. They can access different opportunities for climbing, balancing and building. For example, children access a range of movable climbing and construction materials in the garden. Children delight in running up and over the grass hills, toddlers push themselves along on ride-on toys and babies develop their balance and leg muscles using walkers and soft-play equipment.

Children's independence skills are supported well within the nursery. Children can select from a variety of inviting activities that are fun and inspire them to have a go. Toys and resources are accessible to enable children to select for themselves. Children respond to instructions, such as helping to tidy up before lunch. They demonstrate their self-care skills as they put on their coats and change their shoes when they come indoors. Children's behaviour is good. They demonstrate good levels of confidence at this nursery and behave well.

Managers have changed the arrangements for children's arrival and collection to help keep them safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. Parents comment that they felt reassured with the procedures staff follow to protect their children's health.

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

• Staff are consistently gentle and kind role models to children. They play alongside children, providing a narrative for their interactions. Staff follow consistent daily routines to help children feel safe and support them well to understand and express their emotions. They praise children regularly for their good behaviour. This helps to boost children's confidence and help them learn how to share and be kind to others.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported well. All staff attend specialised training and planning is particularly effective at supporting children. For example, all staff have completed sign language training to aid their communication with children who require extra assistance to develop their listening and attention skills.
• Staff successfully promote a love of storytelling and encourage children to explore books and recall familiar fairy tales. For example, staff provide the props to help children to express their imaginations and recall skills to re-enact 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears'. Children imitate the voices of the bears when they ask, 'Who has eaten my porridge?' Staff discuss with children how the bears may have felt, such as 'shocked', 'saddened' or 'cross'. They consider how Goldilocks may now feel 'sorry' for her actions. This supports children's emotional development and literacy skills well.
• Children's level of engagement in activities is good. This is because staff know the children very well and use this knowledge to inform their teaching and interactions with them. This helps to keep young children motivated and curious about their play. However, at times, staff prompt older children too quickly, providing answers to questions, and miss opportunities to challenge and extend children's learning and thinking skills further.
• Partnerships with parents are good. They state that staff are friendly and supportive, and that their children are happy and settled at the welcoming nursery. Staff work hard to communicate with parents and share the children's experiences at nursery in diverse ways. For example, photos to show learning at nursery are sent through the online learning journey.
• The manager and her new deputy have a strong vision for the nursery and continually reflect on the provision to identify areas of development. They observe staff's practice and identify ways in which it can be strengthened. Staff meet with managers to discuss their work and training needs. Overall, staff benefit from a good induction process. However, some new staff are less sure of the overarching curriculum intent. This means that their planning and delivery of activities are not yet precise or consistently implemented.
• Staff use opportunities as children play to enhance their understanding of mathematical concepts. For example, children become absorbed pouring and filling containers with sand and oats. They learn about the concepts of empty and full. Staff use mathematical language, such as 'bigger', 'smaller', 'heavier' and 'lighter'. This supports their mathematical learning well.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• improve the supervision and induction of new staff so that they can implement the curriculum intent effectively, consistently and swiftly
• build on staff's understanding of supporting children to further their thinking, ideas and problem-solving and to keep trying, rather than being directed.