Bright Futures

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children settle quickly and feel secure in this warm, friendly environment. They have strong emotional attachments to the caring staff, who cuddle and comfort them as and when needed. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, children have been dropped off and collected from the welcoming staff at the door. However, parents have recently started coming back inside the nursery. Children respond well to this. They proudly show their parents their room and happily point out their friends as they wave goodbye. Children are kind and courteous towards each other. They share, take turns and use their manners. Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour. Consequently, children behave well.

Children in all age groups benefit from staff who know them well and plan a varied and interesting curriculum. For example, babies explore ice cubes with sea creatures inside. Toddlers investigate coloured rice with fresh flowers added to it. Older children knead and roll dough, adding their own choice of fresh herbs, stating they are 'making pizza'. Children show they are inquisitive learners. They explore their environments inside and outside, with enthusiasm. All children develop a positive attitude towards learning and are gaining the skills they need for the next stage of their education.

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

• The manager and staff are committed to providing the best possible care and education for all children. They place a strong emphasis on embedding children's prime areas of learning, to provide a firm foundation for their future learning. Staff plan a broad and exciting curriculum that supports children to make good progress from their starting points. This is implemented well.
• Children are captivated and engaged with the assortment of activities provided. Outside, children delight in water play. They use a variety of utensils and umbrellas to transport water from one bucket to another. Children work together, testing out their ideas and celebrating their achievements. They show excellent concentration and perseverance as they remain focused.
• Children and babies thoroughly enjoy story time as staff read with enthusiasm and sing songs with actions. Babies giggle as they show that they are familiar with the actions and eagerly repeat the movements to bring the song to life. Toddlers listen intently to 'The Gruffalo' story and add ingredients, such as 'a poisonous wart' and 'purple prickles' to make Gruffalo crumble.
• Children, including babies, demonstrate excellent language skills. For instance, they use words such as 'fluffy' and 'slimy' during their play. Staff model language well and generally engage children in good quality conversations. Although staff's interactions with children are good, occasionally, staff do not encourage quieter children to join in activities. This means that staff miss opportunities to extend learning experiences for quieter and less-confident children.
• Children are developing a good understanding of people and families outside of their own. They are learning about other cultures and exploring different events and festivals through meaningful activities. Children learn about words, flags and food from different countries that their friends originate from. This helps children to understand and respect the differences between themselves and others.
• Overall, care practices are good. At mealtimes, children demonstrate good independence skills as they serve their own food and pour drinks. However, staff do not always teach children about the importance of following good hygiene practices. For example, children are not always taught to cover their mouths when coughing. When staff do remind children of this, they do not always teach them the importance of washing their hands.
• Staff respect children's voices and opinions. For example, children are encouraged to vote for which story they would like or song to sing next. The manager and key staff hold regular meetings with the 'children's council', so they can share their ideas for the setting. This helps to boost children's self-esteem and sense of self-worth.
• Parents speak highly of the nursery and staff and believe communication is excellent. Parents receive regular updates about their child's progress over time. They are invited to attend stay-and-play sessions to see how their children learn through play. Parents are guided by staff about how they can support learning at home. Therefore, children receive continuity of learning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• focus more closely on supporting quieter and less-confident children to be fully engaged in their play and learning
• support staff to help children to learn about good hygiene practices and why these are important.