Cotton Tails at Quinton

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children make good progress at this stimulating nursery. They learn about the world around them while they explore the exciting activities on offer. For example, they play with real vegetables, pretending to visit a farm shop. Children talk about the celery, parsnips, potatoes and carrots that they serve each other. Babies concentrate while investigating soil, sand and water. They scoop the sand with a spade and pat the soil with their hands and fingers. Babies smile and babble.

Children are highly engaged in their learning. They are happy here. Children, especially those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are safe and well cared for. Staff skilfully adjust activities and resources so that all children can be fully included. One example of this is an adapted sand tray to enable children in wheelchairs to participate alongside their friends.

Children are forming good relationships. They are eager to spend time with each other and enjoy playing together in small groups. Children are comfortable and confident with staff. They often initiate conversations with them and staff respond with interest. Staff have high expectations of children's behaviour, and their approach to behaviour management is respectful and kind. Consequently, children behave extremely well.

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

• Staff help children to learn about their unique selves. When children join the nursery, staff encourage parents to share information about their culture, home life and family celebrations. Displays around the nursery celebrate the children, as well as cultural festivals such as Diwali and Chinese New Year. Children are learning about what makes them special. They are learning about people, communities and diversity.
• Staff are nurturing and caring, and skilful in supporting children's emotional well-being. They are sensitive to the needs of the children. Staff are especially skilful in supporting children with SEND. Staff offer praise and encouragement while reminding children about the class rules. They help the children to learn about feelings and emotions. For example, children have enjoyed a book about a monster who changes colour when his feelings change, and one child says to a member of staff, 'I am the blue monster today,' to describe how he feels. Children are beginning to recognise and talk about their emotions.
• Children learn about being fit and healthy. Staff provide plenty of opportunities for children to exercise their whole bodies outdoors. Children enjoy crawling through tunnels and riding on scooters and bicycles. Indoors, the babies have space to use push-along toys to support them while they practise walking. Children benefit from a varied, healthy menu and nutritious snacks.
• Staff take time to get to know the children and they plan activities to include their interests. However, staff do not always precisely match activities to the children's starting points and capabilities. That said, the staff team are enthusiastic, and the learning environment is engaging. Children are motivated, and they are making timely progress in their learning.
• Leadership and management are strong. There are robust systems in place to support staff during their induction and to ensure that the good standard of teaching is maintained. Managers are reflective, and constantly make plans to improve experiences for children. Current development plans include the redesigning of the outdoor area, improving quality and accessibility, and adding a sensory garden.
• Managers have clear priorities for children's learning. They have created a curriculum to meet the children's needs. However, some of the curriculum plans are not detailed enough to support children's rapid progression over time, including as children move between each age group room across the nursery.
• Partnership with parents is strong. Staff offer support and guidance so that children's learning can continue at home. Staff use an online portal where parents share information from home and get feedback about their children's progress. Parents attend workshops with their children to help them to learn about the curriculum. They feel included and valued. Parents say staff are 'really understanding and caring' and say that the nursery is 'amazing'.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to use observation and assessment systems more effectively so that they precisely know the starting points for every child when planning activities
• develop further the curriculum to define more clearly the expected skills and progression for children to make between each age group room across the nursery so that all children can begin their learning at the optimum level when they start in each room.