Cherubs Kindergartens Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happy and quickly settle into their play and learning. They form close bonds with the staff who are kind and nurturing. Children benefit greatly from the close attention they receive from staff. At snack time, each child sits at a table with their key person and a few friends. They learn mealtime routines as they choose from the selection of fresh fruit. Children become competent at pouring their own drinks and cutting their own fruit.

There is a warm and positive atmosphere. Staff carefully listen to children as they talk. Children experience a wide range of traditions and festivities, for example parents singing songs in another language with the children. Children and babies benefit from frequent opportunities to play in the outdoor area. Older children work together to decide what food is healthy and unhealthy. The youngest children practise their physical skills indoors and enjoy climbing equipment. While staff supervise closely, they stand back to enable babies to work out how to climb up and down by themselves. This helps foster their emerging problem-solving skills.

Children are kind and respect their friends. Staff model positive interactions and teach children to share and take turns. Children think critically and are beginning to solve problems.

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

• The dedicated management team has devised a broad, ambitious curriculum that covers all areas of learning, and which is based on the learning needs and current interests of the children who attend. The knowledgeable and enthusiastic staff team implement the curriculum effectively across the nursery.
• Children are confident communicators. They explore the meaning of new words. For example, they learn the meaning of the word 'cocoon' as they talk about caterpillars. Children demonstrate good thinking skills. They make links to moss balls and how they help the nursery fish tank.
• Staff are clear about what they want children to know and do before they move into the next room or go to school. Regular assessments enable staff to swiftly adapt their activities and interactions to help close gaps in children's learning.
• The management team recognises the importance of continuous professional development to help support staff to carry out their roles. All staff, including apprentices, receive regular supervision and training to build on their knowledge and continually improve their quality of teaching. Ratios are met and staff are deployed according to expertise and qualifications that are best suited to support the ages of the children they work with.
• Babies beam with enjoyment and clap along at song time. Warm, responsive relationships are very evident as babies snuggle in for cuddles. They respond well to their routine. Conversations with parents, alongside settling-in arrangements, mean staff are able to plan for children's learning from the onset.
• The management team are committed to ensuring children receive healthy, nutritious food at the setting. Children pour their own drinks and help lay the table. This helps children develop their own independence.
• Staff ensure that all children are respected as individuals and that parents are fully involved in their children's learning and any intervention that takes place. Staff use simple British sign language to ensure that everyone is able to communicate.
• Parents say they are surprised by what their children have learnt at nursery. They comment that their children are more confident and love being outdoors. The nursery offers regular outings, which helps to extend the children's range of interesting experiences.
• Staff implement care routines for children. However, there are times when staff take children away from activities they are engaged in, which interrupts their learning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review routines to enable children to fully engage in their learning without disruption.