Butterflies Nursery and Preschool Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

All children thoroughly enjoy their time at the nursery. They respond well to the kind, caring interactions of staff. This supports them to develop a strong sense of security. Children spend their day absorbed in a broad and stimulating range of activities. These are skilfully planned and adapted to reflect their interests and individual learning needs.

Babies develop the confidence to explore their environment. They laugh happily with their trusted staff as they play, such as using scarves for a game of peekaboo. Toddlers and older children become very motivated learners. They are eager to take part in adult-led activities and are also happy leading their own play. For example, children devise complex and imaginative role-play games. Staff are on hand to build on children's ideas and help with items that become vital to the story. In addition to activities planned in the nursery, children also enjoy regular outings, such as visiting local shops. They also benefit from spending time with elderly members of the community.

Children establish lovely friendships. Staff support them to develop good behaviour and social skills. They successfully help children to understand their emotions and to learn how to negotiate and cooperate with others. This, along with the good progress children make in their learning and development, prepares them well for their future lives.

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

• Leaders and managers work very effectively with staff to ensure the smooth and efficient organisation of routines and working practices. They provide good support for staff to understand and implement the ambitious aims of the early years curriculum.
• Overall, staff plan very effectively to promote the learning of all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They skilfully identify activities that capture children's interest and build on their existing skills. However, staff do not always give enough consideration to the organisation of the environment or resources needed. For example, there are some occasions when staff do not identify areas with enough clear space. Therefore, although children are keen to take part, there are times when they do not benefit as fully as possible from the intended learning.
• There is a strong focus on promoting children's communication and language. Staff are fully consistent in their approach. Babies hear clear and relevant vocabulary to help them understand the meaning of words. For example, staff play games to enable them to recognise the names of different parts of their body. Staff successfully support older children to build towards using full, elaborate sentences. Children engage in lively conversations with their friends and use their rapidly developing language to ask questions and express their views.
• The curriculum to support children's creativity is embedded well. Staff teach children skills and techniques for painting and printing. They give children time and encouragement to explore their own ideas. As a result, children confidently produce very unique and expressive artwork. The programme for literacy is also strong. Staff plan activities to help build the skills to use the writing tools, which are constantly available. Staff are very successful in promoting a love of books. Children of all ages enjoy sitting with staff for shared reading experiences. Older children explore books independently, turning the pages and retelling familiar stories.
• Staff are highly effective at promoting children's health. All children develop good personal hygiene practices, such as handwashing before eating. They also engage in a lot of active play each day. Babies and toddlers use a broad range of equipment to help them to move from crawling to confidently walking and climbing. Older children explore more challenging physical activities in the exciting garden space and in the church hall. For example, they very enthusiastically run, jump and balance as they negotiate an obstacle course. Regular yoga sessions also help children to develop control over their bodies.
• There are very good arrangements to work in partnership with parents. Staff provide regular updates on children's progress and use a variety of methods to support home learning. For example, parents are able to borrow bags with books and toys, and these include guidance on how to use the resources with their child. Staff give parents a lot of guidance and information to help them to prepare for moving their child on to school. This includes details of the process of identifying and applying to schools. Leaders organise events to include parents in the day-to-day life of the nursery, such as coffee mornings. Parent feedback on the nursery is extremely positive.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to more effectively consider the organisation of space and resources when setting up activities.