Curious Caterpillars Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff place a clear emphasis on building strong relationships with families and children from the outset at this setting. Home visits and settling-in sessions demonstrate a commitment to understanding the child's home environment, which helps ease transitions. Staff recognise the importance of children feeling emotionally secure as a foundation for successful play and learning. The well-established key-person system helps children form strong, secure attachments with the caring and attentive staff. This approach promotes children's emotional well-being and enables staff to plan personalised learning opportunities.

Leaders have designed an ambitious, sequenced curriculum that outlines the knowledge and skills children need to learn at each stage of development. Staff emphasise language development, provide children with a sense of being valued, safe and supported as they grow and learn, and encourage physical activity. Staff build positive relationships with parents and provide detailed information about the curriculum and the children's learning. For example, parents receive a transition guide when their child moves from one room to the next. This guide details the intended learning outcomes for that room and how parents can support learning at home. Staff then create individualised learning plans based on each child's unique interests and needs. They repeat activities over time to reinforce concepts and support learning. Children make good progress from their individual starting points.

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

• Staff in the baby room create a calm and nurturing environment. Babies eagerly engage in well-planned sensory play experiences, exploring a range of textures and materials such as foam, cereal and sand. Staff help babies build muscle strength by encouraging them to stand and move around the furniture in preparation for their first steps. Babies make good progress in key areas of their development.
• Staff prioritise children's communication and language skills. Children of all ages enjoy participating in song, rhyme and story sessions with staff. However, distractions during group times sometimes make it harder for younger children to settle and engage in their learning. For example, staff remove children to change nappies or set up the next activity without consideration being given to the level of noise and the impact this has on children's listening and attention.
• Staff teach children about healthy choices and lifestyles, including the nutritional benefits of food. Children develop strong self-help skills and independence. For example, babies feed themselves, and older children serve themselves. After meals, older children clear their plates and stack the dishes in the dishwasher.
• Staff support children in developing the social skills needed to build positive relationships with peers. They model these behaviours and provide children with the vocabulary to express themselves. Older children learn to self-regulate, manage emotions and discuss their feelings. This helps children understand positive behaviours and show respect for others.
• Children actively engage in multicultural celebrations and community exploration, such as visiting the local food market and growing sunflowers for World Down Syndrome Day. Staff create photo albums of children's families for the book area. This approach helps children learn about the similarities and differences between themselves, fostering an appreciation of diversity and a strong sense of belonging.
• Staff understand children's learning needs and know how to address them. Older children learn exciting new language and explore mathematical concepts. For example, they show fascination as they explore the chemical reaction between vinegar and bicarbonate of soda. Some staff, particularly those working with younger children, do not recognise when to intervene and extend children's learning. They sometimes wait for children to approach them and do not act upon children's emerging interests. This leads to missed chances to build on younger children's curiosity and further stimulate their thinking.
• Staff collect information from parents when their children start to understand their stage of development. Parents speak highly of the nursery. Staff collaborate closely with parents and external agencies to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and help them make the best possible progress. The setting uses the additional funding effectively to support children's individual learning needs.
• The setting highly values staff well-being and actively ensures staff feel valued. Staff receive targeted training opportunities to enhance their skills and deepen their understanding of child development, such as training on how babies learn and develop.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop the organisation of group times to ensure all children can participate effectively and maximise their learning opportunities
• strengthen the quality of teaching for the younger children to consistently challenge them, enabling them to build on their existing knowledge and skills even further.