Chadwell St Mary Day Nursery Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and confident in the nursery. They form strong attachments with staff, who know them well. Children are inquisitive and introduce themselves to visitors. They have good opportunities to use their imagination during play. Toddlers use ice-cream scoops to make pretend ice creams for staff and visitors. Other children relish playing in the role-play home corner. Outside in the garden, children play in the bark chippings with large dinosaurs, pretending to make them dinner out of the leaves they collect.

Children develop their fine motor and problem-solving skills as they successfully discover which key matches the correct padlock. Staff support young children to develop important skills, such as turn taking. For example, they involve them in activities that require children to take turns in rolling balls between their friends.

Children enjoy using the outside taps to fill containers and transport water to their activities. Staff set up a 'potion station' with a variety of items for children to explore. Children eagerly pour water into bowls and mix it with cornflour, using spoons. They cut and smell different herbs as they add them to their mixture. Staff introduce food colouring to the activity and talk to the children about the changes this makes when they add two colours together.

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

• Staff work closely with parents to make sure babies routines are mirrored from home to help them settle quickly. Staff use information gathered from parents when children start at the nursery to understand what children already know and can do. This helps staff plan appropriate targets to support them in the next stage of their development.
• Staff have a good understanding of how children learn. For example, staff know that they need to focus on children developing their big muscles before moving on to smaller movements. They provide opportunities for children to be physically active and develop their core strength, both inside the nursery and in the garden. Toddlers confidently climb up and down the indoor climbing apparatus. Older children push wheelbarrows around the outside area.
• Support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities is a strength of the nursery. Children who need additional support receive this promptly. They have access to a sensory room where children benefit from a calm atmosphere. Leaders use additional funding well. They plan learning opportunities that build on gaps in children's experiences. For example, children benefit from weekly sports and cooking sessions. This helps to make sure that all children make good progress from their starting points.
• Children generally behave well. The manager plans for children to learn the rules and expected behaviour in the rooms. However, occasionally staff do not explain their expectations clearly to children, so that they develop a deeper understanding of why the rules are in place. For example, they ask children not to climb on units or put toys in their mouths, but do not explain why this is important. Subsequently, children repeat the behaviour.
• Older children are confident communicators. Staff model new words to them during their play. As a result, children are learning new words rapidly. For example, staff ask children the names of the dinosaurs in their play and children pronounce complex words, such as 'spinosaurus'. Staff working with babies echo sounds back to them to encourage their early communication skills. However, staff do not consistently support children to only use their dummies for limited periods, for instance, when they are upset or sleeping. This reduces their opportunities for them to use their mouths to babble and make noises.
• Partnerships with parents are positive. They know what their children are learning and how to support them at home. Parents state that their children have made good progress in their development and have grown in confidence.
• The senior management team has reduced the burden of paperwork on the manager to enable her to provide more support and guidance to the staff team. As a result, staff feel that they are well supported in their roles. Staff can share their ideas and best practice with the linked setting. This helps to continually improve outcomes for children.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• help staff to provide a consistent approach to behaviour management so that children learn why behaviour rules are in place
• support children to only use their dummies at appropriate times during the day.