Building Blocks Day Nursery (NW) LTD

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff create a safe and nurturing learning environment for children. The moment children arrive, they are eager to explore the vast array of activities. The atmosphere buzzes with their excitement and their singing fills the air. Staff are good role models and support children's emotional well-being incredibly well. This means that children behave well, show positive attitudes towards their learning, and have a strong sense of belonging. They embrace staff with cuddles and are keen to show the inspector their paintings. Staff know the children well and plan activities to keep them interested in their learning. For example, younger children giggle with delight while exploring sand and paint. Older children show great interest in learning about whales and talk about the importance of looking after the environment.

Children enjoy playing outdoors. They help to harvest vegetables and enjoy visiting the local woodland. Children are fascinated while building dens. They search for snails and enjoy making models of insects out of dough. Children show good levels of independence. They help to tidy toys away, put on their own shoes and help to serve food at mealtimes. Staff support children well for their move on to school. Children confidently talk about their new teachers and classroom.

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

• Since the last inspection, leaders have worked relentlessly to bring about change. They have embraced support from external professionals and have worked closely with the local authority. Self-evaluation is accurate and the manager's capacity to continually improve is good.
• In the main, staff provide children with an ambitious curriculum, which builds on what children already know and can do. However, some less experienced staff do not fully understand what leaders want children to learn. This means that some activities are not pitched at the right level. For example, some staff are not aware of how to extend or keep children's interest maintained during activities. This means that, on occasion, some children lose interest in their learning.
• Leaders have identified that communication and language for all children should be a priority. They have trained all staff, worked with communication specialists, and assess children's speaking skills quickly. Staff teach children new words and listen to them with interest. This means that children are excellent communicators who use a wide repertoire of vocabulary.
• Staff attend appraisal meetings with leaders and complete a wide range of training. They report that the manager is supportive and that working at the nursery is like an extended part of their family. Leaders have identified that the arrangements for staff supervision could be further strengthened. They want to provide staff with more detailed feedback about their interactions with children, to help raise their practice to a higher level.
• Partnership working is a golden thread of this nursery. Leaders ensure that parents and carers are fully involved in every step of their children's early education. Parents commend staff for going above and beyond. Links with other childcare professionals are robust. Children enjoy being part of their local community and relish visits to the local residential care home for older people.
• Overall, staff teach children well about the world that they live in. For example, children help to care for the local woodland and wildlife. However, leaders have not fully considered other ways that they would like to teach children even more about what makes them and their friends unique. This includes children having a greater understanding of different people and communities.
• Care practices are good. Staff spend time getting to know children and their families before they start at the nursery. This supports children's emotional well-being. Staff teach children about the importance of good oral health. Children talk about why they need to brush their teeth and why they need to wash their hands before they eat.
• Leaders give high priority in supporting children who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Intervention plans are robust and gaps in learning close. This means that children receive high levels of support and make good progress.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support less experienced staff to have a better understanding of what leaders intend children to learn
• provide staff with more incisive feedback about their interactions with children, to help raise their practice to a higher level
• strengthen children's understanding of people and communities beyond their own experiences.