Cliffe House Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are cared for by a kind and dedicated staff team at this warm and nurturing nursery. Staff deploy themselves well in the setting to ensure good levels of supervision and children's safety. They provide good-quality interactions to support children's play and development. Staff care deeply for children and aim to provide fun and positive experiences for all. This ensures a loving environment, where children feel safe, secure and happy to learn.

Children learn about the 'golden rules' of the nursery. They receive praise and encouragement when staff notice them following these rules. Consequently, children know what is expected of them and their behaviour is good. Children are supported by staff to access quiet areas to help them to manage their feelings and behaviour. Staff explain to children the impact of their behaviour on others, and how it makes them feel. This helps children learn to understand their own and others' emotions.

Children thoroughly enjoy playing in the nursery's wonderful outdoor play area. They take part in a wide range of experiences to support their physical development. For example, children learn to climb, ride on wheeled toys, balance and jump. These opportunities support children to be active and help them to develop their large-muscle skills.

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

• Staff support children to learn and sing the 'please and thank you' song before each mealtime. Children then remember to say 'thank you' when their meal is served, and staff respond warmly with 'you're welcome'. This supports children to learn how to be polite.
• Staff get to know children very well. They observe them at play and find out about children's key interests. This supports staff to provide engaging activities and play experiences that children focus on and enjoy. However, leaders do not ensure that all staff sharply focus their activity planning on the specific skills and knowledge that they want children to learn next. This does not fully support children to always reach the highest levels of progress in their learning.
• Parents and carers have access to the nursery's lending library. This allows them to borrow books and activity ideas to build on children's learning and development at home. Parents are welcomed into the nursery. They are invited to attend regular parents' evenings to find out more about their children's progress. Leaders seek feedback from parents about the provision. This feeds into the nursery's action plans and ensures continuous improvement for children's experiences.
• Staff are responsive to children's needs. For example, they scoop babies up into their arms for reassurance if they are upset. However, on some occasions, staff do not organise times of transition or activities effectively. For instance, toddlers wait at the dining tables for long periods before their lunch is served. This is not the best use of children's time. Staff do not always wash children's hands before they take part in food-based play activities. This does not consistently promote children's understanding of good hygiene routines.
• Leaders and staff monitor children's progress precisely. As a result, they are able to quickly identify any children who need more targeted support or children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Leaders ensure that outside agency referrals are made at the right time to provide appropriate intervention. They use additional funding to provide one-to-one care or suitable resources to support children's learning. This ensures that children with SEND continue to make good progress.
• Leaders provide staff with a dedicated fund to provide resources and experiences to promote their well-being. Staff and parents vote for an employee of the month. Staff receive regular supervision sessions and targeted training opportunities. This supports them to continue to develop their skills and knowledge. Leaders monitor staff practice. They carry out on-the-spot checks to make sure that staff's ongoing knowledge of safeguarding is good. These approaches help to ensure that children are cared for by a knowledgeable and motivated staff team.
• The provider did not notify Ofsted of several new directors who make up part of the nursery's governing body. This was an oversight and the provider rectified this during the inspection. Background checks are now under way for these new directors. Additionally, the provider has carried out Disclosure and Barring Service checks for these directors, and the directors do not work on site or directly with children. Therefore, there is no impact on children's safety or well-being.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen the planning for children's experiences and activities to ensure a sharper focus on the skills and knowledge that staff want children to learn
• review the organisation of activities and transition times to ensure that children's needs are consistently met to the highest levels.