Bright Stars Children's Day Nursery Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The nursery has a strong, consistent staff team that works to provide a happy, welcoming environment. The staff aim to prepare children to be confident, independent and well-behaved learners by the time they move on to school. Staff provide clear routines and an overarching curriculum for each age group. This helps children feel secure and confident as they build on their prior knowledge. Toddlers quickly master drinking from open cups as they enjoy social mealtimes with their friends. Pre-school children expertly serve themselves an inviting home-cooked lunch as they chat to their friends in their key-person groups.

Children are encouraged by staff to learn how to manage calculated risks and develop their physical skills. During their regular times playing outside, some children carefully balance as they walk the low balance planks, while others move on from using balance bicycles to successfully using pedal cycles. Babies have wonderfully warm relationships with the staff, who know them extremely well. Babies who are just learning to sit are provided with support and opportunities to build their strength and balance as they reach for inviting toys.

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

• The provider has constructed a curriculum that focuses on children's social development, physical abilities and their communication skills. Additionally, themes such as 'myself' are used to broaden children's knowledge across all seven areas of learning. This learning is carefully sequenced during small-group activities that are tailored to children's abilities. While staff know their key children well, some staff are less confident about what other children need to learn next. This limits staff's ability to specifically build this learning into routines and activities provided as part of this wider curriculum.
• Overall, the curriculum is well planned and sequenced. However, the curriculum for literacy, in particular the phonics curriculum, is presented to all older children regardless of their ability. The provider has not ensured that staff teaching this part of the curriculum have appropriate subject knowledge. This leads to some children not being ready for this level of learning and disengaging, while others have misconceptions left uncorrected.
• Staff understand the personalities of the children and construct activities that support children to practise their new-found knowledge in an unpressured way. For example, staff find shyer children enjoy practising their colour recognition in small groups or when playing outdoors. This strengthens children's memories of what they know and can recall.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) have tailored support to help them to make progress. The manager and staff identify children with SEND through their assessments and discussions with parents. They work with parents and other professionals to ensure a suitable curriculum is put in place. For example, staff carefully support lip-reading and also use visual prompts for children with a hearing impairment. Children with SEND are making progress in line with their abilities.
• Staff have high expectations of children's behaviour. They model respectful and calm interactions. Staff are aware of different children's personalities and adapt what they do accordingly. Consistent expectations result in children who are kind and able to focus on the learning activities in the constructive atmosphere.
• Staff get to know children as individuals. They use activities to gain a sense of the children's extended family and what makes them unique. A number of the children speak English as an additional language. For children just learning English, staff support them by using key words from their home language and pictures. Children soon become confident communicators who understand more about the diverse area they live in.
• Children have a good understanding of how to keep themselves and others safe. They can negotiate the outside area safely on wheeled toys and safely use the 'tree house'. They confidently learn to wipe their own noses, dispose of tissues and wash their hands. They understand that it is important to wash away the germs.
• Partnership with parents is good. The staff use a range of ways to communicate with parents, both online and face to face. They provide practical suggestions to parents about how they can help their child's learning at home, from supporting babies to learn to walk to providing 'homework' for pre-school children. Parents find the provider very approachable and happy to discuss their child's care.
• The staff have regular supervision sessions with the manager and provider to check on their welfare and plan their professional development. They feel well supported. Staff are strongly encouraged to undertake ongoing training and study for further qualifications or professional research. This has a positive effect on the standard of education provided.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• heighten all staff's understanding of what all children need to learn next, so this can feed into the learning intent for routine activities
• review the curriculum for literacy, specifically with regard to introducing phonics, so this is provided only to children who are ready for this level of learning and led by staff with appropriate subject knowledge.