Building Blocks Kids Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children develop secure and nurturing relationships with staff at this welcoming nursery. Staff ensure that children feel safe from the moment they start. Each child is greeted by their friends and staff with the 'welcome' song as they walk through the door. This helps children feel valued and helps to build their self-esteem. Children show high levels of motivation to learn. They confidently lead their own play and explore the activities and resources available to them. For example, children demonstrate a strong understanding of numbers as they independently match flashcards with the numbers on the wall. Children who enjoy sensory activities head straight for the water and paintbrushes when they go outside. They are fascinated as they make water splatters on the board and smile with delight as they study the marks they make.

Children make good friendships at nursery. Without being prompted, older children give a gentle thumbs up when they see their friends manage something tricky. Children enjoy listing the nursery rules during circle time, such as 'walking inside' and 'good listening'. This supports children's understanding of expected behaviour and allows them to make a positive contribution. Children are independent and enjoy making their own decisions. For example, children choose which songs to sing during circle time. Children who are still developing their language skills choose objects from a bag that reflect the song they would like to sing.

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

• The manager and staff have a good overview of the curriculum and what they intend children to learn next. There are effective systems for monitoring children's progress. Any gaps in children's learning are identified early. There is good, individualised support in place for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff work in partnership with other providers and professionals to share information about children's development to help them make good progress.
• Staff share good relationships with parents. Parents value the nurturing and welcoming staff. They comment that their children have developed their language and communication skills, such as coming home and telling their families about the days of the week.
• Children have opportunities to learn about diversity and different cultures. Staff use books and discussions to help children understand what makes them unique and how to respect others. However, they could do more to enhance opportunities for children to use their home language during play and to have more visual representation of the different cultures of the children that attend.
• Staff provide a good balance of adult-led and child-led activities throughout the day. They have a good knowledge of children's interests and individual needs.
• For example, children enjoy group activities where they discover different objects in a box, and they learn how to make observations about what they can see and hear. Overall, teaching is good and staff have made strong progress in how they interact and support learning. However, on occasion, some staff do not always challenge children's critical thinking as much as possible. For example, when something breaks, they do not ask children to think about how to fix it or consider why it broke.
• The manager has worked extremely hard to meet the actions and recommendations set at the last inspection. She has made good use of the support available to her and has implemented the advice given. She has regular meetings with staff to identify and plan for any training needs. For example, recent coaching in supporting children's communication means that staff have a deeper understanding of how best to give children the time they need to process what they want to say. Staff comment that they feel well supported by the manager, and their ideas are respected and valued.
• Healthy lifestyles are well supported. Children are provided with healthy and balanced meals. Staff use the outdoor area well to support children's physical development. Children run, jump and practise their throwing and catching skills. They learn to use different tools and materials. Staff provide children with many opportunities for them to strengthen their small muscles. For example, children show immense concentration as they carefully thread cotton reels together.
• Staff support children's language and communication skills well. They introduce new words as children play, which helps to build on children's vocabulary and understanding. For example, they describe the fruits at snack time as 'juicy', 'crunchy' and 'sweet'. Children are strong communicators. When they have finished their lunch, they explain that their plate is 'empty'. Staff make good use of the newly introduced visual aids that help children who are still developing their language to understand what is happening next.
• Transitions to school are excellent. Children's future Reception teachers are invited to spend time in the setting, observing children and discussing the individual needs of the children with staff. Staff have made plans to spend time in some children's new schools when they first start to offer support during this transitional period.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• consider how children's home languages can be further promoted in all areas of the environment to enhance children's sense of belonging
• continue to focus on strengthening staff's interactions with children to the highest level to help promote children's critical thinking skills even further.