Bright Eyes in St Blazey

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are well cared for by a kind, caring and attentive staff team. Staff focus on supporting children to develop secure bonds with their key person. This helps children to feel comfortable and reassured when needed. Parents are aware of their children's key person and acknowledge the strong attachments which their children have with them.

Children benefit from a well-designed curriculum to support their communication and language development. For example, staff introduce words such as 'scoop' and 'mix' when toddlers investigate mixing. Babies develop speaking and listening skills as they explore different songs. For example, they self-select a picture card of a nursery rhyme to sing and are delighted when the staff then start to sing the song. Babies engage, smile and laugh as they sing each song. This helps to build on their early literacy development.

Children develop good levels of independence from a young age at the nursery. For example, all children learn the importance of good hygiene by washing their hands before meals. Children help to pour their own drinks throughout the day. Pre-school children are encouraged to clean away their empty plates. This helps children to develop a sense of responsibility.

Children have a positive attitude towards learning and enjoy exploring and experimenting. They work together to solve problems, for example, they help each other to balance the bricks. Children develop positive relationships with one another and because their emotional well-being is supported, they feel safe and secure.

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

• Leaders have established a broad and interesting curriculum overall that responds to children's needs, supports their independence and prepares them for their move to school. Children engage in a range of interesting play experiences with support from staff.
• Staff monitor children's progress from their starting points. They quickly identify any children who are at risk of falling behind in their development. Staff ensure that children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, receive the early help and support that they need. Additional funding is used exceptionally well to close any gaps in children's learning. For example, the new climbing frame is helping to develop children's physical development skills, and the sensory lights are helping to stimulate children's senses.
• Staff have a very good knowledge of children's abilities and next steps in their learning. The manager and staff use assessment well to support individual children's next steps. This helps to ensure that children receive the relevant help and support they need. However, on occasion, staff do not use their detailed knowledge about each child to plan highly challenging activities to help them build on previously acquired knowledge. For instance, some planning of activities tends to focus more on the children's interests rather than building on what they already know. This means that not all children are consistently challenged in their learning.
• Children regularly share books with staff and each other. Young children give books to staff and are confident that they will be read to. Staff in the baby room sing rhymes and talk to babies frequently. When children are learning to speak, staff ensure that they speak clearly and maintain eye contact. All children have a drive to communicate and make progress with their speaking and listening.
• Overall, staff plan nursery routines to support children's learning. However, at times, these routines are not consistent for all children and expectations are not clear enough. For instance, older children are encouraged to sit down on the carpet at the start of the day to take the register and sing songs. Some children continue to play with the toys and are not encouraged by staff to join the rest of the group. This does not help children to engage more fully and extend their learning even further.
• Children have plenty of opportunities to develop their physical skills. They learn to use scissors with confidence and explore a range of art and craft materials that develop their muscles in readiness for later writing. Children climb, balance and enjoy plenty of outdoor play in all weathers.
• The manager spends time in each room and is attentive to the development needs of the nursery. She has a clear vision for the nursery's future. She observes staff interactions with children and uses her findings to enhance staff development. She provides staff with purposeful feedback, encouraging them to become reflective practitioners. Staff are keen to access training courses to support and develop their practice.
• Parents speak very highly of the staff team. They confirm that they are provided with clear information about their children, including their achievements. Parents comment that they have benefited from the 'lending library' scheme that was introduced at the setting.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review and adapt routines in the pre-school room to help children engage in their play and learning to the highest levels and ensure that expectations of routines are consistent for all children
• support staff in the pre-school room to use their excellent knowledge of each child's capabilities to devise a highly ambitious curriculum that challenges children's learning and further deepens their understanding of what they already know.