Cotton Buddies

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy, safe and secure at this nursery. They arrive and happily leave their parents at the door. Children develop good levels of independence. They acquire many skills that they need now and for the future. Children behave well, and listen to staff and each other. Young babies settle well and explore the world around them. They accept and hold objects, such as plastic balls, which are part of a water activity. Babies smile and laugh as they use their hands to splash the water. Toddlers enjoy action songs and rhymes which support them to develop their coordination and rhythm. They listen and follow instructions as they find their 'nose and eyes'.

Children are helped to stay calm and focused as they spend quiet time in the sensory room. Staff provide a therapeutic space and sensory experiences for small groups to help children to interact with others. All children are supported to become critical thinkers as they play and design with wood. Staff encourage children to think of themselves as individuals. They encourage children to design and construct in the construction area. On the day of the inspection, staff, parents and children learn about Diwali. Children create rangoli patterns and staff provide Indian food at mealtimes for children to taste. Children enjoy dressing up in saris. All of which supports their own identity for those who celebrate Diwali at home. This helps other children to develop their understanding of the wider world and of celebrations different to their own.

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

• Overall, staff support children's early language development effectively. They use different ways to communicate with children. For instance, they use visual picture cards and some British sign language. Staff engage well with children and children respond effectively. However, on occasions, staff miss some learning opportunities as they do not consistently describe and comment on what children are doing, to encourage them to talk more.
• Children who are disadvantaged and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities achieve well. Staff have made good connections with other agencies to obtain the help and funding they need to offer children specific support. Staff use early years pupil premium funding to provide children with football coaching from a specialist. This helps children to develop their physical skills, confidence and self-esteem. Children enjoy the coaching sessions at the local park.
• Staff provide children with a good-quality education. The curriculum is designed to cover all the areas of learning and staff consider children's interests. They sequence learning as children play. For example, staff sequence a play dough activity to support children's physical development. Children ask to use scissors in their play. Staff follow children's interests and offer scissors and a variety of tools. This helps to build children's small-muscle skills, creativity and concentration.
• Staff are skilled at using workstations for children who require individual attention. They sequence the activity so that children learn structure and routine, and are able to focus for a small amount of time. Staff support children to develop their independence and organisational skills during these sessions.
• Overall, staff work well with parents. They communicate with parents using an online application to share and receive information. Parents comment positively about the success of the online application. They appreciate staff sharing photos of their children playing and learning. In addition, parents speak positively about the good relationships they have with staff. However, staff do not consistently provide parents with clear information about their child's next steps in learning and ways to support their child at home.
• Staff support children to attend to their own needs. Children confidently feed themselves and follow good hygiene routines. Staff establish friendly cooperation with children as they change young babies nappies and encourage potty training.
• Staff carefully organise the learning environment to help children make progress. They know what they want children to learn, what they can do and what they want them to do next.
• The provider ensures that staff have easy access to a wide range of training courses which support them to provide good-quality care and education. For instance, staff access many online courses which can be refreshed when needed and fit in around their work schedule.
• The provider is aware of areas for improvement at the setting. For example, she has plans in place to improve staff's practice so that children benefit and are supported more through their interactions with staff.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• further extend interactions with children and encourage them to talk more, to build on their language and communication skills
• give parents clearer information about their child's progress and encourage them to support their child's learning at home.