Chuggers Day Nursery and Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children benefit from a welcoming and exciting environment in which they explore freely in safe and secure play areas. Babies investigate many sensory materials, enjoy books and develop their physical skills, such as climbing and balancing on soft blocks. Toddlers and pre-school children move freely between the indoor and outdoor play areas. This helps to support the more active children to learn in their preferred environment. Children behave well and develop positive attitudes. They share, take turns, listen and follow instruction. Staff are good role models who help children to manage their feelings and emotions.

Staff deliver a broad curriculum that is designed to support all children's development, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). This successfully prepares children for their next steps for learning and transition through the nursery and to school. Staff provide topical activities for children to learn more about the world. For example, children look for signs of spring to explore environmental changes and find out facts about creatures, such as worms. Children enjoy creating and using their imagination. They become absorbed in mixing resources to create 'citrus tea', fill spray bottles with water to make marks and play with animals in a slimy seed mixture. Staff respond well to children's spontaneous interests, such as organising bubble play when babies see bubbles floating up from the garden below. This helps to maintain children's curiosity and enjoyment.

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

• The strong management team has a good oversight of the provision. Managers have implemented many improvements to raise the quality of children's care and learning. This has helped to ensure that every child benefits from an effective curriculum and good-quality staff interactions to help them progress well.
• Staff know the children well and are clear what they intend them to learn next. They join in children's play with enthusiasm to support their development further. For example, staff ask questions to encourage children to listen and think, introduce new words to build their vocabulary and help older children to learn the letters of their names. However, on occasions, staff do not enhance older children's mathematical development further to help them learn more about quantity and shape.
• Children develop good physical skills. They run freely outside and join in action songs with enthusiasm. Staff create popular yoga sessions to help support children's mindfulness, flexibility and strength. They help children to learn about good dental hygiene through regular teeth-brushing activities. Children explore healthy eating. For example, they discuss healthy foods in their 'Chuggers campsite' while making pretend meals.
• Children gain valuable skills to support their future learning. Babies develop confidence and security to explore and make their own choices. Staff help all children to develop good communication and language skills. Older children learn to manage tasks for themselves, such as washing their hands and putting on their coats. However, staff do not help children to learn how to manage all areas of their personal hygiene well, such as when they frequently cough over others.
• Partnerships with parents are good. Parents talk positively about their children's experiences and the links they have with staff. For example, they say how their children love attending and make good progress. Staff treat children with respect and kindness and share ideas with them to support their education at home.
• Staff support children with SEND effectively. They quickly identify any gaps in children's learning and work with parents and professionals to provide targeted activities to help the children make better progress. Managers use any additional funding for children responsibly in order to have the most impact on their learning.
• The management team follows robust procedures to ensure all staff are suitable and prepared to fulfil their roles. Staff benefit from effective coaching to improve their skills and confidence. This has had a positive impact on staff's management of children's behaviour. Staff have a good understanding of their safeguarding roles and responsibilities to safeguard children's welfare. Staff feel valued by managers who nurture their confidence and well-being.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop staff's interactions to strengthen older children's mathematical skills even further
• improve staff's practice to support children in managing all aspects of their personal hygiene well.