Cressex Day Nursery Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and settled at nursery. They have regular opportunities to make choices in their play. For example, babies point at photos of toys that they wish to play with. Toddlers choose the songs they want to sing using picture cards and older children help to select toys for the day. Children have opportunities to share their wider views. For instance, they represent their peers on the nursery council.

Children develop positive attitudes to their learning. Overall, they benefit from well-planned opportunities to develop their communication and language skills. For example, older children create and re-enact their own stories enthusiastically. Younger children concentrate well in groups and join in singing using sign language. This helps them to begin to develop their vocabulary.

Children benefit from opportunities to learn about healthy lifestyles. They learn to plant, grow and harvest vegetables, such as baby corn. They then learn how to prepare them and use them to make sauces for their meals. Children develop a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe. They learn about how to protect themselves in different weathers. This gives them essential knowledge for their future lives.

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

• Staff support children's behaviour well. For example, they involve older children in helping to create rules for their room. Children decide that they need to 'work together' and 'sit nicely'. Staff provide lots of praise to recognise children's success. This helps to boost their self-esteem.
• Managers have a secure understanding of the differences between the children that attend. For instance, they recognise the many different languages children speak. They ensure that resources, such as books, are accessible in different languages. This helps staff to support children who speak English as an additional language effectively.
• Overall, staff know what it is that they want children to learn during their routines and activities. However, they do not share a fully effective understanding of how to use their own interactions or resources to deliver this intention. At times, this leads to inconsistency in practise between different staff or different age groups.
• Staff support parents well. During the COVID-19 pandemic, managers arrange for 'parent champions' to talk about their experience of nursery with prospective parents. Staff signpost parents to support, such as from the family information service. Parents report that this advice was helpful.
• Staff help children to learn how to manage their personal hygiene. For example, children enjoy a visit from a dentist to help them learn about oral hygiene.
• Following this, staff support them to use the techniques they learn to brush their own teeth.
• Managers organise regular opportunities for children to get fresh air and exercise. For example, older children enjoy tennis lessons. They excitedly show the inspector how to hold the tennis racket. They talk about the skills they practise, such as learning to hit and control the ball when in a standing position.
• Staff develop positive partnerships with professionals at other settings. They demonstrate this by liaising with multiple schools that children transfer to when they leave nursery. Staff arrange for transition activities, such as key-person discussions, face-to-face visits and technology-supported meetings. These help prepare children for their move to school.
• Managers have a positive approach to staff well-being. For example, they promote positive and open communications. Managers recognise staff achievements and staff are proud to share celebrations of their practice with others. Managers support staff to help them achieve a positive work-life balance.
• Managers understand the requirement for staff to complete a progress check for each child between the ages of two and three. However, the procedures they have in place are not fully effective in helping to ensure that every progress check is completed in a timely manner.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop staff support and help staff understand how to use their own interactions and resources to deliver the curriculum intent more effectively
• strengthen procedures for monitoring completion of children's progress checks between the ages of two and three and ensure that they are all completed in a timely manner.