Coton Park Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thoroughly enjoy their time in nursery and separate well from their parents and carers. They form close relationships with staff and friendships with their peers. Children settle easily into a wide range of activities, both indoors and outdoors. They take pride in what they do and are building an awareness of caring for the world around them. For example, they take pride in the area around nursery and help to keep the area clean by using litter pickers to collect rubbish. They have also been learning about recycling within the nursery.

Managers and staff gather detailed information from parents about their children so that they fully understand their individual needs and routines. This enables staff to plan effectively from the start of the child's placement. Staff support children's learning well, using their observations and assessments to identify children's future learning needs and plan an interesting curriculum for all children. Activities take into account children's interests and ideas.

Children show that they feel safe and secure in nursery. Their emotional and social well-being is nurtured by staff. Children receive lots of support from staff as they learn to understand their feelings and emotions. Clear and consistent routines and boundaries help children to understand what behaviour is acceptable in nursery. Staff recognise and celebrate 'wow' moments with children and praise good behaviour.

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

• Managers and staff work well together. They understand the benefits of sharing their knowledge and skills. Staff cascade new information gained from training courses to the wider staff team. Newer members of the team have mentors and are supported as they become familiar with all aspects of childcare. Staff well-being is a priority. Regular supervision enables managers to identify professional development opportunities to continually build staff's knowledge and skills.
• Parents speak highly of the staff and the service provided to themselves and their children. Regular parents' evenings take place to discuss children's development. Staff keep parents informed about their child's day and the activities they have enjoyed. They share ideas with parents for continuing their child's learning at home, and they keep them informed about their child's progress. However, routines for involving parents in completing the progress check for two-year-olds are still evolving.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported well. Staff use their observations of children involved in play to identify possible gaps in learning. The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) is passionate about her role and works with parents to ensure that children receive additional support to enable them to make the best possible progress.
• Children like to recreate familiar experiences and pretend to cook pasta in the play kitchen. Young children place pots and pans onto the wooden saucepan rings and mix the pasta around in the bowls. They then share what they have made with staff and their friends. Older children delight in pretending to be doctors and nurses. They study x-ray slides of feet and teeth and take turns to apply bandages to their friends who are poorly. Staff support children's awareness of the different roles of nursing staff and immerse themselves into different roles, such as the receptionist making appointments.
• Young children show great interest in animals frozen in blocks. They explore what they can use to break the ice to get the play animals out and find wooden rods to tap the ice until it breaks. However, occasionally, children's emerging language and vocabulary are not fully extended.
• Children's health and well-being are well supported. Children's dietary needs are taken into account, and meals are nutritious. Children's independence continually grows through daily routines, such as making choices and serving their own meals. Children learn the importance of taking care of their teeth. They spend time talking about how and when they clean their teeth and practise those skills using a large set of play teeth with toothbrushes.
• Staff recognise the uniqueness of each child. They use information about children's cultural backgrounds to broaden children's awareness of the wider world. Resources and books reflect positive images of the world around them and reflect families that are different to their own.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance routines for involving parents in completing their child's two-year progress check
• further improve teaching so that it consistently enables children to build their vocabulary.