Cheeky Monkey Childrens Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are very happy and relaxed in this nurturing environment. They excitedly arrive and leave their parents with ease as they are warmly welcomed into the setting. Staff support children to settle quickly to a chosen activity. Children are inquisitive and eager learners, and make good progress.

Children develop close bonds with their key person and other staff. As a result, children feel safe and emotionally secure. Staff genuinely care about children and swiftly attend to their individual needs. For example, they offer babies loving cuddles and gentle words of reassurance if they feel upset or tired. Children are well behaved, kind and respectful to each other and staff. Staff help them to learn to share and take turns from a young age. For example, staff support toddlers to take turns threading pipe cleaners into cardboard boxes. Children receive lots of praise and encouragement from staff, which helps to raise their self-esteem.

Staff support children's independence well. They invite older children to help to set the table and undertake risk assessments outside. This gives children the responsibility to carry out a task, which helps them to feel valued and included. Furthermore, children understand the importance of health and hygiene. They develop good self-care skills, such as through handwashing before mealtimes.

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

• Staff have high expectations for all children and know their key children extremely well. The support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is a strength of the setting. Staff swiftly identify children who need additional support. They work closely with families and other professionals to create and implement individual learning plans. This helps children to move forward in their learning and benefit from continuity in their care and development.
• Children learn about a range of cultural festivals and support charities to help to develop their awareness of the diverse world that they live in. For example, children fundraise for a guide dog charity.
• Children are keen to take part in the wide range of interesting learning experiences. For example, they focus extremely well during a Romanian lesson, and join in confidently. Children learn to count in Romanian and take turns to name animals in Romanian and in English.
• Children have lots of opportunities to develop their physical skills. They enjoy playing outside in the garden and get plenty of fresh air. Children practise their balance and coordination, such as they carefully manoeuvre across a balance challenge that they worked together to create. Children learn resilience and to try again. Staff supervise them well and support them to manage risks safely.
• Staff help children to develop a love of books from an early age. Babies snuggle up to staff and explore sensory books together. Staff introduce new words, such as 'fluffy' and 'soft', which helps to develop children's emerging vocabulary.
• Parents speak highly of all aspects of care and education which staff provide for their children. They comment that staff 'go above and beyond' what is expected when supporting their children. Parents say that staff understand what is important and unique to their children and are, therefore, effective in meeting their needs.
• Staff have an in-depth knowledge of each child's needs. They use careful assessment and planning to deliver fun and engaging activities. Staff are particularly effective at supporting children with SEND. For example, they deliver one-to-one sessions to focus on communication and social interactions. However, staff focus less well on the needs of children as a group. This means that they are not always clear about what they want children to learn during group activities.
• Managers meet regularly to review all aspects of the setting. They carry out detailed audits of daily practices and procedures. This helps to ensure that the setting runs effectively. Managers have a vision to make ongoing improvements through evaluating the setting accurately. They coach less-experienced staff well. This helps to ensure that newly appointed or less-qualified staff gain the knowledge and skills they need over time.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen staff's understanding of the intent of planned group activities, so that their teaching is consistently focused on what they want children to learn.