Children 1st @ Newark

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children demonstrate their emotional security and confidence. They approach visitors with their 'family books' and proudly talk about the photos within. Older babies use their developing language to exclaim, 'Picture of me!'. As they turn the page in their book, they point and announce with excitement, 'My mummy'. Staff have created these books using photos shared by parents. As children respectfully look at them, they start to develop their sense of self. They begin to recognise what makes them unique and celebrate their special family traditions with their friends.

From a young age, children develop the independence skills that they need for moving through their early education and beyond. The opportunities for this at mealtimes are plentiful. Younger children are supported by attentive staff to pour their own drinks. They practise how to coordinate and control their movements to skilfully fill their cups without spilling any water. Children safely drink from an open cup. Staff provide children with napkins so they can learn to look after their own care needs. Children tuck these into the neck of their tops, and independently wipe their hands and mouths when they need to.

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

• The manager has demonstrated good leadership since the last inspection. She has developed staff practice and raised the quality of the education that children receive. The curriculum for younger children has been adapted to focus more precisely on children's developmental needs. Staff are confident in their understanding of this, and support children to build on their individual skills and knowledge. The manager describes this as 'learning for life'.
• Staff use a variety of methods to communicate with parents. Parents are invited into the nursery to collect their children and discuss their care and learning with their key person. Ideas for continuing children's learning at home are shared through an online system. These are tailored to children's individual learning goals. Staff complete a daily diary for younger children, so parents have a written record of their care information.
• Staff are consistent with reinforcing their expectations of children in a positive way. Children are quick to follow instructions and respond well to the boundaries that have been set. This leads to a calm and well-organised learning environment where children play harmoniously with their friends.
• The staff know what skills and knowledge children need to learn next based on accurate assessment. However, they do not consistently support this effectively. For example, some staff are slow to recognise and respond to younger children when they practise using their developing language. They do not always encourage and reinforce the attempts children make to communicate.
• Staff used topic-based learning to teach pre-school children new information. However, this is not always appropriate for all children. For example, staff teach children a letter of the month, while also teaching them the letter that their name begins with. The letter of the month is not relevant for all children when they are more focused on learning the letters of their names.
• Staff provide many opportunities for children to learn outside in the outdoor classroom and large garden. Through this, children enjoy the daily fresh air and the chance to exercise and develop their large-muscle skills. Staff encourage children to wheel around the roundabout and over the speed bumps while playing on their ride-on toys. This helps children start to understand how the world around them works.
• The manager focuses on staff training to develop their teaching. This has had a positive impact on children's learning. Staff working with babies and younger children have completed relevant training to enhance their practice. Staff working with pre-school children have reflected on the resources they provide children with, to make sure they support age-appropriate development.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to consistently recognise younger children's communication and language attempts, and to respond promptly to promote their development in this area
• review and amend topic-based learning so that it is relevant and appropriate for all pre-school aged children.