Cliff Hill Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Babies and children excel and develop excellent confidence and independence in the happy, safe, vibrant and richly resourced environment. Staff plan and provide children with an excellent range of hands-on learning experiences. This supports children to be motivated learners, who are more than ready for school. Older babies and toddlers curiously investigate the seaside-themed taste-safe sensory media, such as blue jelly and yellow flour. Older babies make connections as they pick up the toy fish then point to the dangling fish mobiles.

Older toddlers excitedly explore multicoloured sand outdoors. They giggle as it seeps through, and tickles their fingers. Children aged two years mix oats and feed different sized teddy bears, imitating a favourite story. Children in the pre-school room are highly animated and deeply engrossed. They use impressive language and early mathematical skills while following a recipe card to create a 'sludge' cake in the exploratory kitchen. They show excellent behaviour and collaborative play with their friends. For example, they pretend the recipe card is a treasure map and go on a treasure hunt together.

Children thrive because they have secure emotional attachments to the passionate, nurturing and loving staff. Staff maintained excellent contact with families during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) national lockdown and where children did not immediately return. This supported children's emotional well-being and learning superbly. Staff phoned families weekly, shared photographs, dropped off resource packs, told stories daily via video and suggested activity ideas.

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

• Staff plan an exemplary curriculum that includes inspiring first-hand experiences. Consequently, children develop a vast range of new knowledge and recall learning superbly. For example, children in the pre-school room plant wildflowers in wellies and engage in still life drawings. They excitedly talk about their papier mache volcano, using amazing vocabulary, such as 'eruption' and 'lava'.
• Staff meticulously assess and plan for children's future progress and have high aspirations for all children. The nursery manager is steadfast in removing barriers to learning. She swiftly identifies early development concerns and ensures first-rate early intervention and support. This helps all children to reach their full potential.
• Children develop an excellent awareness of healthy lifestyles. For example, children in the pre-school room create healthy food collages and make dough teeth as part of an activity relating to oral hygiene. Staff provide children with extensive opportunities to be physically active.
• Children show amazing communication skills and develop a wonderful love of books and stories. Staff display fiction and non-fiction books in all areas and children choose the book of the month, which is shared with parents. Staff incorporate the book of the month in all areas of learning and make their own innovative resources as part of this. This enhances children's learning experiences.
• Following the national lockdown, staff planned excellent transitions to manage returning children's anxieties. Babies were entering much earlier, due to grandparents being unable to provide childcare. Staff identified that this changed the dynamics of the baby room and impacted on the older toddler's development. Consequently, they created a new room for the older toddlers. This has significantly enhanced their progress.
• Staff support children to develop excellent physical skills. Babies place bangles on mug trees and toddlers confidently use soft play apparatus and place balls in bun tins. Older toddlers scoop sand with tools and children aged two years skilfully use cutlery. Children in the pre-school room balance on planks and tyres, negotiate the climbing pyramid and jump off the pirate ship.
• Although parents are not yet entering the nursery, staff work in excellent consultation with them. Alongside daily conversations at the entrance, staff continue to exchange extensive information through the nursery's social networking site and online parent app. Parents receive progress summaries and staff inspire them to support children's next steps at home. Parent feedback is highly complimentary.
• Staff help children to embrace everyone's uniqueness superbly. They portray difference positively through displays and extensive resources, including those made by staff, such as puzzles reflecting diverse families. Babies and children delight in looking at photographs of themselves and their family, situated in baskets and albums, role-play areas and on displays and coasters. Children in the pre-school room are supported by staff to make mirrors with craft resources. They then compare features while creating self-portraits. Staff celebrate the different languages children speak.
• Excellent care routines promote children's independence and understanding of behavioural expectations. Staff use ample visual aids to help children manage their feelings and emotions and self-regulate. They celebrate children's achievements from home, for example through 'wow' boards.
• There are superior arrangements for reflecting on and improving practice, including extensive professional development opportunities for staff. This results in staff's high-quality interactions and the nursery's continually evolving practice.