Cherryvale Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are greeted by staff who are kind and friendly. Staff provide good settling-in visits before children first attend the nursery. They work closely with parents to find out key information about children, such as their likes and dislikes. Staff then use this information to help children to settle and quickly form bonds with their key person. The management team speaks proudly of the nursery ethos, where children arrive with an empty backpack and, as they learn and grow, they leave with it full. Staff support this as they plan plenty of interesting and fun activities to help children to make good progress. Older children confidently use computer programs to colour in pictures. They enjoy listening to stories, join in with actions and recall what is going to happen next. Toddlers learn how to care for others as they play with dolls, wash them and brush their teeth. Babies enjoy plenty of sensory play, and staff value the voice of the child. For example, the door to the sleep room has been removed so that nonverbal children can go in and show staff when they want a sleep.

Children behave well and are kind and thoughtful towards their friends. Staff are enthusiastic but also gentle in their approach. They offer lots of praise, which helps children to feel settled and secure.

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

• Staff consider children's safety well. They have recently reviewed how they move children from the outside play area to indoors to keep all children accounted for. Children learn about the importance of keeping themselves safe. Staff show younger children that the gates are locked and talk to them about why this is important. They talk to older children about the 'PANTS' rules created by the NSPCC, and help children to understand that their body belongs to them.
• The new management team at the nursery is having a positive impact. Staff report positive well-being and a stronger focus on training. They have recently completed safer sleep training. The management team is aware that staff in some rooms are more confident than others. At present, the level of teamwork and communication between staff is not consistent across the nursery.
• Staff plan a range of activities and experiences based on children's interests. For example, a recent interest in the Olympics has driven staff to think of ways to incorporate this into children's learning. Toddlers develop physical skills as they use spray bottles to spray water at paper targets. Pre-school children develop their physical skills as they run races, balance on beams and jump over hurdles. Staff teach children the rules of a relay race and children excitedly run around shouting, 'One more lap for Great Britain.'
• Overall, staff organise the learning environments indoors and outdoors well. They plan activities outdoors, such as painting, so that children have plenty to do aside from physical play. However, not all areas are consistently well resourced. For example, on the day of the inspection, the water tray outside was empty and the chalkboard had no chalk, despite these being accessible to children. This limited children's choices should they have wished to use these.
• Staff teach children the importance of staying healthy. Children enjoy plenty of outside play, but staff ensure children apply sun cream regularly, take a rest in the shade and have plenty to drink in hot weather. Staff talk to children about the importance of staying hydrated and challenge them to have four more gulps of water before they go back off to play.
• There is a strong focus on developing children's independence skills from a young age. There are sinks for handwashing in all rooms, and even the youngest children are confident to stand on the step and wash their hands with minimal guidance from staff.
• Staff are positive role models and encourage positive behaviour. They teach children how to manage their emotions and understand when children might be feeling a little less secure. They recognise, for example, when older children might be feeling unsure about starting school and take this into account. Staff support children's transitions to school well and provide lots of reassurance.
• Parents speak positively about the nursery and staff. They say that their children enjoy attending and that the staff are kind and caring. Many parents are returning parents with their second child, which demonstrates their confidence in the care provided. However, a clear two-way flow of information with parents has not yet been established to share ideas consistently with parents to enable them to support learning at home.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• monitor the level of mutual support and teamwork in each room to ensure communication between staff in all rooms is consistently good
• support staff to consider the learning environments and activities inside and outside more thoroughly so that they are consistently well resourced to support children's play and learning
• enhance partnerships with parents to improve the two-way flow of information regarding children's learning and development and to support parents to continue their child's learning at home.