Bright Horizons Coulsdon Day Nursery and Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff are enthusiastic and vibrant, particularly in the baby room. They engage with children energetically, narrating their play and singing songs. This approach makes children happy and effectively supports their emotional well-being. Managers ensure that the required staff-to-child ratios are always met. This enables staff to supervise children well. Children have positive attitudes towards their learning, as seen in their motivation skills. For instance, younger children enjoy matching familiar objects and often exclaim, 'I did it!' to express their delight. Staff provide applause and words of encouragement, such as 'well done'. This practice helps to boost children's self-esteem and confidence.

The staff's curriculum is designed to focus on what children need to learn next. In the baby room staff prioritise establishing secure relationships with children. This benefits children well, including the new ones, making them feel safe. Staff have high expectations for children's learning. They encourage children to undertake as many age-appropriate and manageable tasks as possible, such as during mealtimes. Children develop self-care and independence skills. Staff gently remind children about their behavioural expectations. For example, during group time, they discuss with children the importance of 'good listening'. Children listen and follow instructions well.

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

• Managers use their professional curiosity to ensure children's safety. For instance, they gather, and reflect on, relevant information from parents to manage children's accidents, illnesses, and injuries as effectively as possible.
• The curriculum is balanced and ambitious. Staff observe and assess how children learn, using children's interests to plan what each child should learn next. For example, staff know older children enjoy making play dough, so they often provide this activity. This helps children improve their fine motor, mathematics and independence skills. All children, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds, and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make good progress.
• Overall, staff support children's language skills well. They sing, read and engage children in conversation in an exciting way. However, there are times when staff do not present accurate information to children. This slightly limits the opportunities for meaningful discussions about the topics they aim to teach.
• Staff participate in regular training to keep their knowledge up to date, including procedures to follow when allegations arise. Additionally, managers promote their whistle-blowing policy to encourage staff to report any concerns to relevant agencies.
• There are rigorous procedures for vetting and inducting staff. Senior leaders support, coach and supervise staff to ensure that they understand their roles and responsibilities. This includes discussions about health and safety issues, such as risk assessment of toys and the premises. Staff, including those that are new, feel supported in their professional development and well-being, which helps to retain good-quality staff.
• Managers assess staff practices to ensure children's safety and enhance their learning experiences. Recently, they evaluated the learning environments and made adjustments, such as to the role-play area, to minimise accidents. Additionally, managers are reviewing outings for children to enhance their understanding of the world around them.
• Staff work closely with parents and maintain regular communication with them. Parents have expressed high praise for the nursery, particularly for how staff manage the transitions between home and the nursery. They appreciate the range of settling-in sessions offered, which ensure that children have a positive start to their early education.
• Staff provide children with numerous opportunities for fresh air and exercise, which enhance their physical development and growth. They also offer balanced and nutritious meals to encourage healthy eating habits. However, staff do not consistently adhere to good hygiene practices. For instance, they sometimes forget to wash their hands after wiping children's noses. This practice does not fully support children's overall health.
• Staff have completed training on how to manage children's behaviour, including incidents of biting. This promotes a more positive learning environment for children. Staff model words, such as 'thank you' and 'please', during their interactions with children. This helps to promote children's good behaviour.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• present correct information to children at all times to help build on their knowledge and speaking skills
• follow good hygiene practices consistently, particularly after cleaning children's noses, to promote their health.