Buttercups Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Leaders and staff plan a curriculum that supports babies to develop key life skills. These include being curious, confident and resilient learners. Staff place a strong focus on the prime areas of learning and use their professional knowledge well to deliver a tailored curriculum. Babies persevere as they reach out to try and grab the toy that is interesting them. This supports their core muscles, in preparation for sitting. Babies demonstrate the new connections they have made in their learning, as they wave, smiling with pride. Staff encourage babies to hold a rattle independently, placing it in the babies' hands. They succeed in holding it and use a firm grasp, developing their smaller physical skills. Staff expose babies to mathematical language and use words such as 'big' and 'little'. Staff sing number rhymes to babies softly stroking their legs, helping to calm them. Babies gaze in awe and observe staff's positive facial expressions. This helps babies to begin to understand and develop their interaction skills.

Babies have everything they need to feel safe and secure. Staff nurture babies' personal and emotional needs superbly. Consequently, babies form strong bonds with attentive, kind and caring staff. Babies thrive in the calm, well-organised environment where their individual needs are given priority. For example, staff gently rub babies' tummies and sing to them as they drift off to sleep. Outside, babies, parents and families have access to the 'family tree' to spend time to reflect together, supporting their well-being.

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

• Staff have excellent knowledge of how babies develop. They use babies' interests and next steps to plan enjoyable activities. For example, staff move babies around the room to explore animals and instruments. However, while there is a range of sensory play on offer for babies, staff do not always make this fully accessible. This means, at times, opportunities for babies to enhance their sensory and creative exploration are limited.
• Staff use thorough observations and assessments to monitor babies' learning and development. They gather detailed information about babies, helping to form robust starting points. Staff complete baseline assessments to develop more precise next steps for babies. Multi-agency working is highly effective, including, health visitors and family support workers. This means staff swiftly identify gaps in learning. Babies make good progress from their starting points.
• Overall, staff promote babies' language skills well. They consistently narrate to babies, providing a language-rich environment. Babies begin to babble and make noises. Staff sing, use sign language and encourage babies to join in with actions. This supports babies to begin to make connections between words and their meanings. However, at times, staff are not always aware of the continued use of dummies. As a result, this can hinder babies' emerging speech development.
• Staff support mothers to help their babies develop healthy lifestyles. They share information on healthy foods and provide individual support with weaning. This means babies have a balanced and nutritious diet. Staff take babies outside daily, so they can enjoy fresh air, supporting their well-being. They provide opportunities for babies to build on their physical skills in the soft-play area, supporting their physical development well.
• Encouraging babies to engage with the community is a high priority for staff. They regularly explore and interact with outside activities, helping babies to begin to develop awareness of similarities and differences. They begin to explore the world, and this prepares them well for life outside of the prison.
• Dedicated, passionate and motivated leaders and staff receive highly targeted training opportunities to support their practice. For example, staff attend a nurture programme, helping them to focus more on, 'learning in the now'. This helps babies to meet their learning goals quicker. Leaders use feedback from mothers to introduce a lending library, encouraging good literacy skills. Staff report high levels of well-being and feel extremely supported by leaders.
• Mothers deeply value and appreciate staff; they feel well informed about their babies' development and grateful for the support they receive. Staff have recently implemented a noticeboard for mothers to contribute to. This lists daily routines and events, including stay and plays, picnics and training. Mothers report that they very much feel part of their babies learning journeys and have formed trusting relationships with staff.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen the planning of activities to provide more opportunities for babies to engage in sensory play, helping them to further explore their senses
• consider the use of dummies and the impact that these have on babies' emerging speech development.