Cheeky Monkeys Childcare

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Relationships between staff and children are positive. On arrival, children continue to separate easily from parents at the entrance door. Younger children enjoy using two-way communication devices to talk to older siblings in other rooms throughout their day. Children are happy and settled. They behave well and enjoy their time at this calm and inviting nursery. During action songs, children, including those with additional needs, listen to instructions and follow these accurately. They actively celebrate each other's achievements through gestures such as clapping. Leaders recognise that children have become much less familiar with aspects such as road safety since the pandemic. They are taking time to teach children about the steps that they need to take to keep themselves safe when out and about.

Leaders and staff create an ambitious curriculum that focuses on what children know and enjoy. Babies explore their appealing surroundings freely and confidently. They vocalise and babble continuously during play. Younger children are imaginative. They use resources such as a book and two bowls to create their very own 'hamburger'. Older children recall events such as finding a spider, and use mathematical language to describe the special features. They work together with others to recreate a 'rescue mission' during pretend play. Children attending the holiday club extend on their early writing skills from school when sketching 'a snail with an alien headband'.

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

• Leaders show a sheer determination and drive to improve. Safety practices at the nursery have been greatly enhanced since the last inspection. Leaders deploy staff most successfully, including at busier times, such as lunchtime. They take prompt and effective action to minimise any potential risks during play. This ensures that children's care, learning and welfare needs are consistently met.
• The well-qualified staff spend quality time engaging with children to find out about what they know and enjoy. They use this information to extend on children's current skills, to help them to make consistently good progress. Staff encourage babies to explore the sounds that musical instruments make, to build on their desire to express themselves through physical actions and sounds.
• Overall, staff support children's early language development well. For example, when finding insects outdoors, staff use a translation tool to link words in English to children's home languages. However, at times, staff use informal language, such as 'hiya' and 'toothy pegs', when chatting to babies. Additionally, younger children are not continually encouraged to remove comfort items when talking. This does not aid children's early pronunciation skills most successfully.
• The friendly staff speak to children in a gentle and sensitive manner. They prepare children well for any changes to their routine. For example, staff use specific sounds to gain children's full attention and talk through how many minutes are left until tidy up time. Children play cooperatively with their friends. They know to use their 'kind hands, listening ears and walking feet' at nursery.
• Partnerships with parents are good. Staff bring children and families together to engage in events such as sports day. They keep parents informed about their children's progress. Specialised home learning bags are helping to build on children's early reading, self-care and physical skills at home.
• Staff ensure that children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, receive the early help and support that they need. Additional funding is used well to close any gaps in children's learning. For example, the new bubble machine and sensory lights are helping to stimulate children's senses and building on their ability to maintain focus for longer periods.
• Leaders invest in staff through highly focused professional development. They ensure that staff undergo regular supervision sessions to monitor their ongoing performance. However, the targets set do not clearly identify what it is that individual staff need to do, to enhance their good teaching practice further.
• Staff take children to places of interest, such as the library to select books to bring back to the nursery. They invite professionals into the nursery to teach children about different occupations. Children enjoy hearing about the role of a registered nurse. They practise helpful life skills, such as performing basic first-aid procedures. This contributes towards children's growing awareness of how to keep themselves and others safe.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support all staff to build fully on babies' and younger children's developing pronunciation skills, to assist their early language development most successfully
• strengthen the current performance management systems and identify individual and precise targets for staff that focus intently on raising their good teaching practice further.