Croft Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thrive at this welcoming and friendly nursery. They make good progress in their learning and development, as staff provide a broad, balanced and interesting curriculum. Staff are kind and considerate towards children. Staff provide nurturing care to babies and sensitively support new children to settle. Children receive lots of reassuring cuddles, and they snuggle up to staff to share individual stories. This supports children's emotional security and builds their confidence.

All children have positive attitudes to learning. They enthusiastically engage in the learning opportunities provided and develop new skills. Older children are sociable and confidently talk about what they like doing at nursery. They form friendships and say they like playing outdoors and painting. Children behave well and are supported to be kind and considerate to others. Staff ensure that children receive plenty of praise to recognise their achievements. This builds children's confidence and self-esteem. Staff skilfully use pictorial prompts to support children's understanding of the daily routines. This provides reassurance to children, as they know what to expect. Children learn the importance of sharing, taking turns, listening and using good manners.

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

• Leaders are committed to providing a curriculum to ensure that all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), develop the knowledge and skills they need for the next stage of learning. Staff closely assess children's development to establish what they already know and can do. They use this information well to identify any emerging gaps and plan for children's next steps. Additional funding is used well to provide appropriate resources to support children's learning.
• Leaders are good role models for staff, and they guide and support practice well. Evaluation is used well to identify appropriate areas to support continual improvements. For example, reorganisation of some of the group rooms has ensured that there are reduced waiting times for children during lunch periods.
• Staff say they enjoy working at the nursery and that they feel valued and supported. They have good opportunities to develop their knowledge and skills through a variety of training opportunities. Recent training on sensory play has supported staff to plan even more tactile experiences for children to support their creativity.
• Children are inquisitive learners and develop a range of skills to support their all-round development. All children benefit from regular outdoor play where they explore nature and develop their physical skills. Younger children develop their mobility as they master climbing steps. Older children excitedly participate in an assault course where they skilfully crawl through tunnels and expertly balance.
• Children clap and cheer other children's achievements. They learn respect for each other and to play harmoniously together.
• Children learn to be independent. Toddlers are supported with toilet training and staff provide fun ways for babies to develop their self-help skills. Babies develop confidence with their coordination as they use spoons to pretend to feed toy animals. Pre-school children use self-registration systems and learn to recognise their own names. They confidently put on their own coats before playing outdoors.
• Overall, children's language and communication are supported by staff. Babies learn the noises that animals make while listening to stories, and staff introduce new language to toddlers, such as 'spiky' when describing dinosaurs. Pre-school children imaginatively talk about hidden treasure as they explore the sandpit. Although staff consistently engage with children, on occasions, staff do not allow children sufficient time to respond to questions. This means, sometimes, children do not develop their communication and language even further.
• Children with SEND are extremely well supported. There are well-established systems to identify where children may need support, and early help is sought promptly. Staff work closely with parents and external professionals to monitor progress and develop clear targets to help children to flourish in the nursery.
• Parents say their children enjoy attending the nursery and they have seen children make good progress. Staff support parents to extend children's learning at home with helpful learning packs and a book lending library. This helps children to develop their love for books and stories.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen teaching skills so that staff consistently give children sufficient time to think and respond to questions to support children's communication and language skills even further.