Cliffe House Day Nursery Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happy and confident, ready for an exciting day. They confidently say goodbye to their parents and greet the familiar and friendly staff team. Children develop strong bonds with their key person and other staff. They seek out staff for reassurance and to share play experiences. Children play freely and make independent choices about the areas they wish to play in.

Babies snuggle up to staff to share a story book. They are inquisitive and use their senses to explore the dried cereal. Older children enjoy bringing their imagination to life. For example, they use the clipboards and paper to record the ingredients they will need to make unicorn biscuits. Toddlers are fascinated to find creatures frozen in blocks of ice. With a member of staff nearby to support their learning, they begin to understand basic concepts, such as wet, cold, heavy and light.

Children display kind behaviour and play cooperatively together. They learn about the concept of fairness and to respect and consider their friends' opinions. They take part in a daily vote to make decisions about which story they will listen to. This helps children's decision-making skills and introduces the principles of democracy. Children learn about the impact of a healthy diet and the importance of taking care of their teeth. They demonstrate good hygiene practices, as they wash their hands before mealtimes and after using the toilet.

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

• The setting's curriculum is carefully designed to support children to make progress in all areas of learning. Staff swiftly identify children who may need extra support. They review their assessments to see what further support they can offer to help children maximise their learning.
• Overall, staff place a strong focus on communication and language development. For example, children are encouraged to take books home to read with their parents. Staff working with babies constantly acknowledge their babbles and gestures. They support toddlers to progress from speaking with single words to building small sentences. However, in their enthusiasm, some staff do not give children enough time to put their thoughts into words. Also, there are times when staff do not model the correct pronunciation of some words.
• Staff develop children's mathematical skills through play. They support learning and provide more challenge wherever possible. For example, toddlers count how many scoops of sand they need to fill a container. They discuss the size and shape of the containers. Older children use and understand positional language, such as 'underneath', 'on top' and 'behind' as they play.
• Staff plan activities that ignite children's interest. For example, toddlers have lots of fun hunting for bugs in the garden. They work together to find the bugs and then examine them closely using the magnifying lens. They recall names of certain creatures, such as wood louse, ladybird, and scorpion. Staff skilfully extend the activity into other areas of learning, such as encouraging children to count how many legs the spider has, and what colour worms they can find.
• Staff promote children's positive behaviour from a young age. Children learn to share, take turns and use their manners. Staff talk sensitively to children about how their actions affect others and help them to understand their emotions.
• The outdoor areas offer opportunity for all children to move in a range of ways. Older children use their leg muscles to push scooters and propel wheeled toys. Toddlers climb the steps on the climbing frame and use their fine motor skills in the sandpit and mud kitchen. Babies have space to crawl and pull themselves up to practise their walking skills. Children benefit from freshly prepared meals and snacks that take account of their individual dietary needs and preferences.
• The manager supports staff well in their professional development. She undertakes regular observations of staff practice and gives useful feedback on how they can improve their good teaching, to further enhance children's learning.
• Parents are delighted with the service. They comment enthusiastically on the friendly and approachable staff team. Parents feel thoroughly informed about their children's learning and appreciate staff's regular feedback. They state that the nursery, 'Is a special place where staff show genuine interest in their children and offer the best support every single day'.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to give children more time to put their own thoughts into words while talking with them and asking them questions
• support staff to consistently model how to pronounce words correctly, so children learn the correct way to say and use them.