Daisies Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and engaged in their play. They are busy and choose from a good range of activities, which support all areas of their learning. Children benefit from daily opportunities to play and learn outside. Babies are wrapped up warm and watch in wonder as the snow falls around them. Staff talk to children about the snowflakes, and they investigate what happens when they touch the snow.

Children show that they feel safe as they happily follow the routines of the day. They generally behave well and care about their friends. For example, young children help their friends to wipe chalk off their faces. Children understand the expectations that staff have of them. For instance, they listen and respond as staff remind them to use 'inside voices'.

Children's developing communication skills are well supported. They enjoy stories and singing throughout the day. Staff read to children in an engaging manner and instigate discussions to promote their expanding vocabulary and understanding. Children are confident and approach visitors to chat about their day. They are becoming confident communicators.

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

• Leaders show commitment to improving the experience they provide for children. They regularly evaluate the provision and include the views of staff, children and parents in their improvement plan. Staff feel valued and demonstrate commitment to their roles.
• The manager has recently introduced procedures to monitor and support staff. However, these are still in their infancy and not yet embedded to enable the manager to accurately identify any inconsistencies in the quality of teaching. This means that support for individual staff is not yet targeted precisely, to help them to raise the quality of teaching to the highest level.
• The setting has a number of new staff, which means children benefit from more consistency in their key person attachments. Staff plan for children's learning based on what they already know and can do. Monitoring and assessment is effective and enables staff to quickly identify gaps in children's learning and development. Where gaps are identified, staff implement strategies to help them to catch up.
• The special educational needs coordinator has an excellent grasp of their role and responsibilities. They liaise with other agencies as appropriate to ensure that children with specific needs are well supported. Consequently, all children make good progress from their starting points.
• Children have space to play and be physically active, both indoors and outside. Babies are supported to practise their new physical skills by staff who offer praise for their efforts and achievements. Children are supported to begin to manage their own self-care needs and practise skills, such as serving their own meals and zipping up their coats. Children's developing physical and independence skills are well supported.
• Children eat healthy meals and learn about the importance of exercise and rest for their bodies and of leading a healthy lifestyle. They learn the importance of washing their hands before meals and after playing outside. Children are beginning to form healthy habits for life.
• Staff teach children about different types of families. They help children who speak English as an additional language to play and learn in their home language. Resources in other languages help all children begin to understand how they are unique and about our diverse world.
• Parents are supported to help their children continue their learning at home. They enjoy sharing the 'story sacks' that children bring home. Staff offer regular information about children's learning and levels of development. Parents praise leaders for helping them to access support for their individual family circumstances. Parents feel involved in their children's learning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen the supervision and monitoring of staff to help identify any inconsistencies in teaching and to target the professional development of individual staff more precisely.