Budehaven Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are confident and happy in the nursery. They eagerly explore and play with the interesting activities that staff have created. Staff develop close, nurturing bonds with children. They support children to feel safe and secure. Toddlers enjoy role play with staff, using a toy kitchen and exploring toy fruit. Staff guide them to learn the names of the fruits, such as tomato and apple. Children smile and laugh as they play peekaboo with staff. The manager has created a home-from-home environment for the toddlers, which has supported their sense of well-being.

The curriculum is well designed and effective. Children make good progress in their learning and develop a wide range of skills, ready for the next stage of learning. Interactions between staff and children are of a high quality. Staff guide children to develop their communication skills and own ideas in thoughtful back-and-forth conversations. Pre-school children confidently explain what they know and can do. Staff support children to develop their self-esteem and creative skills as they draw self-portraits. Children look in the mirror and draw what they see. Staff write down what the children like about themselves and add these to the drawings, such as 'I am a good painter' or 'I am a good friend'. They support children to develop a sense of their own uniqueness and self-confidence. Children are eager and motivated to take part in activities. Staff are calm, reassuring and genuinely enthusiastic. Children enjoy being at the nursery.

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

• The manager has created an ambitious curriculum. It is securely embedded into the daily practice of the nursery staff, who confidently plan effective activities that challenge all children. Staff successfully introduce different curriculum areas into one activity. For example, when colouring in Easter eggs, they introduce counting. However, for children of all ages, the curriculum does not explore other countries, cultures and religions. Children are not supported fully to understand and celebrate similarities and differences and to learn more about the world they live in.
• The manager has created a reading area and built an extensive lending library. Staff regularly sing songs and nursery rhymes with children to develop their literacy skills. Staff read to children often. However, during pre-school group times, staff read books with the book on the floor and the pages facing away from the children. This means that children lose interest, do not engage as well as they could and become distracted.
• Children of all ages are kind and respectful to each other. They interact well together and happily share toys. Pre-school children quickly respond to requests from staff, for example when it is time to wash hands before and after snack time. Children successfully seek help from staff when they find activities challenging and thank staff for their help. Children are given support to be independent and confidently choose their own activities and resources. Older children move around the indoor and outdoor spaces freely and safely.
• The manager supports the staff team well. Staff enjoy coming to work and praise the manager for her effective leadership. The manager ensures that staff continually develop their professional skills through regular staff meetings and a wide range of training opportunities. She ensures that staff training has a positive impact on children's learning. Staff have recently undertaken courses in language and communication development. This has helped them to extend the ways in which they support children to build their vocabulary and conversation skills.
• Parents are positive about the progress children make and the regular information they receive about their child's development. Staff have effective relationships with parents. Parents feel supported to extend their child's learning at home. They comment that their children have formed loving bonds with staff, who know their children well.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• extend opportunities to support children to understand and celebrate similarities and differences and to learn more about different cultures
• develop group story times in the pre-school room so that children can listen without distractions.