Ceres Nursery Ltd, Working Mums Daycare & Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff, especially those in the baby room, are very nurturing and affectionate. They provide children with plenty of cuddles and encouragement to help them feel safe and secure. This supports children's emotional well-being effectively. All staff reinforce hygiene routines consistently. They are very good at reminding children to wash their hands and explaining the importance of this. Children develop the habit of washing their hands frequently to maintain their health. Additionally, the in-house cook provides children with healthy snacks and meals to promote their growth and development.

Staff hold high expectations for children's learning. They design a curriculum that includes various experiences for children that they may not encounter elsewhere. This includes ballet, yoga, playball and tennis, which develop children's love of physical play. Younger children laugh as they sing and dance along to music, displaying motivation and happiness during these activities. Staff teach children to look after their environment. For example, pre-school children learn to clean the floor using a brush and a dustpan. Children gain self-care and independence skills. Staff model positive behaviour and encourage children to do the same. Children behave well and show strong social confidence, which helps them interact positively with others.

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

• The manager is ambitious for the nursery. She completes a thorough evaluation of their practice to identify its strengths and areas for further development. For example, the manager is keen to enhance the outdoor space, particularly the growing area, to extend children's opportunities to learn.
• Staff build strong parent partnerships, which have a positive impact on children's learning. They make good efforts to invite parents into the nursery to celebrate cultural events, such as Mother's Day and Father's Day. This helps children learn about diversity within families. Parents speak highly of staff who communicate with them regularly about their children's learning. They praise staff for creating a safe and clean environment that supports their children's individual needs.
• Partnerships with teachers in the local schools and outside agencies are equally strong. The sharing of information between staff and other professionals provides consistency for children's learning. This benefits children who are in the care of other professionals and those transitioning to school.
• Staff observe and assess children's learning regularly to ensure that the curriculum is rich and interesting. This helps children make significant progress in their learning, including those at risk of falling behind, especially in terms of their personal and physical skills. Children gain confidence in handling tasks and challenges appropriate for their age because staff support them effectively.
• Staff teach children to play collaboratively. Children demonstrate good behaviour as they listen and follow instructions well from staff. Staff encourage children to express themselves. However, they do not always explore or check children's understanding of their feelings. This does not fully support children's early emotional literacy.
• Staff feel well-supported by the manager and attend mandatory training in safeguarding and first aid to protect children's welfare. Those who work with younger children have improved their knowledge of supporting non-mobile babies, leading to positive impacts on their physical skills. Some staff, especially pre-school staff, are less effective when engaging with children, specifically during busy periods. This affects children's otherwise positive experiences at nursery.
• The manager works diligently to ensure a high level of support for children's health. She collaborates with staff to actively participate in the 'Healthy Early Years London' scheme. Their strong efforts have been recognised with an award for their dedication to children's health. This promotes children's understanding of a healthy lifestyle, including oral hygiene, from a young age.
• Children develop their communication and language skills well. They have plenty of opportunities to sing, listen to stories and play imaginatively. For example, during role play, children enjoy dressing up as 'doctors' and 'vets'. Staff join in to facilitate children's play and engage them in conversation, such as about healthy eating. This helps to extend children's vocabulary, especially for those who are bilingual learners.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• continue teaching children the language of feelings and regularly assess their comprehension to reinforce their learning
• strengthen the monitoring and supervision of staff to ensure that they all have high-quality engagement with children.