Cherubs Daycare

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children feel comfortable and safe at this homely setting. Babies approach and pass staff toys to engage them in their play. The curriculum is well planned and takes into account the needs of the children that attend this setting. Leaders have reflected on the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on children and continue to adapt the curriculum to close any gaps in their development.

The environment is welcoming and gives children independence in developing their own learning. For example, staff are currently placing a focus on children learning about minibeasts. Children access activities where they search for minibeasts in a large tray using magnifying glasses. They make jigsaws with images of a variety of minibeasts. Staff interact and ask open-ended questions to develop children's learning while they are engaged. This helps children to learn new things and continue to embed this knowledge using their own interests.

Children behave well. They take age-appropriate risks and manage these independently. For example, children balance on the indoor climbing frame and then work out when it is safe to jump onto the mat underneath. Children show perseverance during activities. They show high levels of concentration when staff model new skills, such as tracing patterns in sand, and attempt this themselves.

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

• Physical activity is a focus at this setting. Children practise their fine motor skills, such as by using magnifying glasses to search for minibeasts in foliage placed in a tray. Children climb and balance on the indoor climbing frame. Leaders have evaluated and improved the outdoor area, so that children have more space to practise skills, such as riding bicycles and scooters.
• Leaders and staff have strong relationships with parents and carers. Parents comment that they feel supported and their children make significant progress due to staff's teaching. However, not all parents know who their child's key person is and what skills they are working on. This means that they are not consistently able to continue their children's learning at home.
• Key staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) well. Staff work closely with other professionals in order to support children's learning and development. They use additional funding to build on children's key skills, such as language development. Key persons work on targets set by professionals, such as speech and language therapists, to ensure that children make good progress.
• Children regularly go on walks in the community. They have opportunities to build on gross motor skills, indoors and outdoors. Leaders understand the importance of a healthy lifestyle and the positive impact this has on children.
• However, they do not consistently extend this to the significance of a healthy diet. Staff do not consistently explore with children why eating a varied and nutritious diet is important for their bodies to remain healthy.
• Staff support children's communication and language well. They skilfully introduce new vocabulary when supporting children in their activities. For example, when children are tracing patterns in sand, staff label which body parts are on a face and children repeat these.
• Staff report feeling well supported and happy at work. Leaders are proactive in ensuring that staff's workload is manageable. They plan flexible working hours so that staff have a good work-life balance. Leaders use regular observations and supervisions to support staff to maintain a good level of education.
• All staff complete mandatory training. Leaders give staff opportunities to complete additional training in order to improve their practice. Staff are able to request specific training based on children's needs. This ensures that there is an ongoing culture of improving the existing good quality of education
• Staff model good hygiene practices during daily routines. Children regularly wash their hands before meals and after exploring for minibeasts in the local area. Leaders understand the importance of good oral hygiene and are in the process of starting a local initiative on toothbrushing and ensuring that children visit the dentist regularly.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop partnerships with parents to ensure they are aware of who their child's key person is, in order to support children's learning at home
• provide children with consistent and clear messages on the importance of leading healthy lifestyles, particularly the importance of a healthy diet.