Chatterbox Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff provide a happy and safe environment for children. They get to know the children well and build positive relationships with their parents and carers. This promotes a shared approach to children's care and learning, which helps children to settle and feel secure. Staff are alert to children's emotions and behaviour. They act quickly to resolve and avoid minor disputes. Staff teach children about how their actions can impact others. Staff promote children's personal development well. For example, babies are comforted and cuddled by caring staff, who use family photos to help them settle in. The nurturing support from trusted adults supports all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to develop a real sense of belonging. Consequently, children are confident, kind and behave very well.

Staff prioritise communication and language development in their curriculum. A wide range of teaching methods, such as basic sign language and visual aids, are used alongside spoken words. For instance, babies enjoy singing songs and clapping hands as they develop an understanding of rhythm and rhyme. In addition, staff skilfully introduce new words such as 'aromas' and 'spiral' as they narrate older children's play. All children are continually developing their communication and language skills. Staff are preparing children well for their next stage of learning and subsequent move to school.

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

• There is strong support for children with SEND and children who speak English as an additional language. Passionate staff work very well with specialist professionals to create resources that develop the communication and language of children with SEND. This helps all children to make good progress in their social confidence and communication.
• Partnerships with parents are strong. Parents are provided with effective feedback about their children's progress. They appreciate and value the support they are offered from staff. Parents comment that they particularly like the lending library, where they can borrow resources to help their children in the home environment. For example, children enjoy choosing board games to play at home that support their development in early mathematics. In addition, parents report that their children enjoy attending and have made strong bonds with staff. Parents say that the setting is like a family.
• Children build on and develop their physical skills well. Staff provide resources that challenge children to take appropriate risks through their play. For example, younger children develop their small muscles as they use a range of tools such as whisks and tweezers to make 'flower tea'. Older children enjoy climbing and balancing on large apparatus. This builds their confidence and supports their emotional development, and they show pride in achieving their goal to walk along the balance beams. Children develop their awareness of their surroundings and coordination.
• All children make good progress from their starting points. Overall, staff plan an ambitious and well-sequenced curriculum. They place a strong focus on supporting children to develop skills for life, such as independence, confidence and empathy. Staff use assessments to plan for children's next steps in learning. However, occasionally, some staff do not identify children's next steps as precisely as possible to help them make even better progress.
• Staff teach children new skills during large-group activities, such as talking about the days of the week and weather. They also discuss the benefits of eating healthy foods and the impact it has on their good oral health. However, on occasion, younger children are expected to take part in large-group times and sometimes find it hard to sustain their attention. At these times, younger children do not benefit fully from the intended learning experiences.
• Children are beginning to learn some good hygiene routines. For example, they independently wash their hands before lunch. However, some hygiene routines are not consistently promoted by staff. This means, at times, children do not receive consistent messages about the importance of personal hygiene practices. For instance, they do not always wash their hands after carrying out personal care, such as wiping their nose, to help minimise the spread of any germs.
• Leaders and staff have a shared vision and are committed to providing all children with the highest quality care and education. Staff morale is high, and they speak positively about the strong support they receive, both in their professional roles and for their personal well-being.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• refine children's next steps even more precisely to support their already good progress even further
• review the organisation of group times so that all children gain the most from the intended learning experience
• embed hygiene practices so they are consistently followed by all staff to promote children's understanding of good hygiene and healthy lifestyle habits.