CTY Nursery Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children, warmly greeted by staff, are eager to enter the setting, rushing happily through the doors as soon as it opens. As children enter their rooms, they quickly settle at inviting activities set out as part of the setting's broad and ambitious curriculum. Staff work well with other settings children attend. They share a diary to support consistency in children's learning, ensuring all children are well prepared for the next stage of their learning.

The behaviour of children is good. Staff help children to understand the rules of play, facilitating activities that encourage turn-taking. Staff offer children lots of praise and encouragement, helping them to develop resilience. As children manage to fit each piece in a new inset puzzle, they give themselves a big clap to celebrate. Staff have high expectations of children and encourage them to be independent in all areas of their self-care. Children begin to self-serve their own lunch and are competent at feeding themselves. Once they are finished, they scrape their leftovers into bowls. Children understand that staff are nearby to help them if needed.

The support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is excellent. Staff are quick to identify children that may need additional support and work with the local authority to submit timely referrals.

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

• The promotion of communication and language is a strength of the setting. Staff deliver the 'WellComm' programme, providing focused support for the language development of all children. Staff provide workshops each term for parents entitled 'Early words together at two, three and four', where they role model to parents the language to use with children to extend vocabulary. Monthly core books help embed familiar language, recall information and support children to enjoy sharing stories with others.
• Staff promote the mathematical development of children. Staff introduce positional language during activities, helping children to understand concepts such as under, on and left and right. Counting is incorporated into everyday tasks. Children confidently count how many bugs they have in a pot, how many blocks high their towers are or how many circles they have used to paint a caterpillar. Children use magnifying glasses, and staff help them understand why objects get bigger or smaller.
• Children understand the routines of the day. Staff give children clear three-minute warnings about when it is time to transition from play to lunch or adult-led activities. However, sometimes, during transition periods, children are left waiting for extended periods. At lunchtime, pre-school children are sat at the table for a sustained period before their lunch comes out, and at snack time, all children are sat together on the carpet to eat, even though not all children would like some fruit. This results in children becoming restless.
• Staff make very good use of their community surroundings. Children take daily trips out of the setting to visit the local park, visit shops to buy fruits and vegetables and look in the local chemist to extend their topic of being healthy. Managers make links with local dentists, café owners and the local fire station so children can go on trips to learn about the services they provide. This helps children to understand the world around them and what it means to be part of a community.
• Parents are happy with the service provided by the setting. Parents compliment the friendly nature of staff and the programme of learning provided. Parents feel kept up to date with how their children are progressing and feel supported in helping children achieve developmental milestones such as potty training. Parents value the support staff provide in putting them in touch with other services that can support their children's development, for example speech and language therapists.
• Leaders are reflective and regularly seek the feedback of parents and carers. They look to see how they can implement changes suggested. For example, reading books and optional homework has begun to go home weekly with the pre-school children. This is in response to a suggestion from parents to enhance the ready for school programme.
• Staff at the setting feel well supported. They have regular opportunities to meet with managers and discuss their career progression and any concerns they may have. Staff attend regular training to ensure they can continue their own professional development.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• consider how transition times are organised to ensure they meet the needs of all children and to minimise waiting times so that children do not become restless.