Country Kids Day Nursery Sleaford

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and confident in this nursery and settle quickly into their chosen activities. They show through their behaviour that they feel safe and secure. Children have strong attachments with staff, and caring friendships are apparent between the children. Children develop confidence and learn to be independent in daily routines. They understand the need to wrap up warmly when preparing for their daily outing and seek help from staff, when needed, to do up their coats and shoes.

Children try hard to reach the top step of the climbing frame. They are confident to ask for support if they need it. Staff are on hand to encourage them and offer reassurance. Children show friendly relationships towards others. They work together to create a track for their cars and solve problems, such as when cars fall off the step. Children create a barrier and take turns operating it. Children have strong relationships with their key persons and often run to them to share experiences, to which they are greeted with compassion and delight.

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

• Leaders have carefully designed their curriculum to meet the needs of the children. Staff have a clear understanding of what they want children to learn. However, staff have not considered the order in which children learn new skills. This inhibits their ability to sequence children's individual learning. As a result, some planned activities are pitched too high for some children.
• Leaders ensure the environment supports all seven areas of children's learning. Staff are particularly skilled in supporting children's communication and language development. Staff who work with babies repeat words and encourage frequent babble. They offer praise and encouragement as babies attempt to communicate. Staff ask older children open-ended questions and give them time to respond. Staff consistently repeat new words so that children can hear the correct pronunciation. This means that children's vocabulary is developing quickly.
• Staff build on children's good health well. Children share that they 'love this' as they enjoy nutritious meals with their friends. Staff take children on daily walks in the local community. Children enjoy trips to the shops, the library and recreational areas. Staff use daily routines to talk about oral hygiene. Children proudly explain that they brush their teeth at home and that this is a healthy thing to do.
• The nursery has a varied collection of books. However, staff do not regularly encourage children to select books to share with adults or to read on their own and with others. Therefore, children are not supported to develop a love of books or understand the importance of reading and how it can help to improve their language skills.
• Children dance with delight and listen with intent as staff play the violin and sing nursery rhymes. Staff pause and wait for the children to continue the rhyme and fill in the missing words. Children have good opportunities and experiences across all areas of learning.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported well. The manager and staff work in close partnership with parents and other professionals to support children. Staff carefully implement agreed support strategies. Consequently, children with SEND make good progress.
• Children behave well. Older children support younger children when they ask for help to reconnect a train track together. Staff encourage children to be kind. Children are curious and confident to ask for help or additional resources when they need them. As a result, children have a positive attitude to their learning.
• Parents are happy with the nursery. They comment on the positive communication they receive from staff, which helps them to understand their children's next steps in learning. Parents receive daily handover information about their children's day and have access to an online system, where staff share updates.
• Leaders and managers provide staff with valuable professional development to extend their knowledge and skills. The manager supports staff who are new to the nursery through a thorough induction process. As a result, all staff report high levels of well-being and are knowledgeable about nursery policies and procedures. In addition, more experienced staff support those new to their role.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• refine the implementation of the curriculum to ensure staff sequence activities at the correct level for individual children
• review the organisation and provision of books and stories.