Dawmouse Brunswick

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children make good progress from their starting points in this welcoming and stimulating nursery. They remain happy and confident and form secure attachments with staff. This helps support their personal and social development.

Staff plan to improve children's concentration and develop their problem-solving skills. Children enjoy rescuing dinosaurs from ice. Some children bring water from the taps in small jugs and pour this over the ice, while other children use a pipette to add water to the ice gradually. They observe the changes in the ice. Children talk to the staff about needing to use different tools and how their hands and fingers feel when they hold or touch the blocks of ice. Children engage in the activity over a long period of time. Staff plan learning that is well sequenced and ambitious for all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Children develop good social skills, which enable them to develop strong friendships. Children are imaginative in their play, they create dinosaur caves using parachutes and giant tunnels. Children show care and consideration for each other during play. They take turns and play cooperatively. Staff support children through minor conflicts. They encourage children to communicate how they are feeling and offer solutions to resolve problems. Children are proud of their achievements and share these with their peers and the staff. They invite staff and other children to observe their dinosaur interactions in the newly built cave.

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

• Children learn about making healthy choices. At snack time, staff talk to children about the benefits of the foods they are eating. They subtly introduce new fruits, such as pomegranates to the children. Staff give parents advice on providing healthy packed lunches for their children. Children bring healthy balanced packed lunches and enjoy talking to their friends about their lunch comparing fruit and vegetable choices.
• Parents express high praise to the staff for their kind, warm and caring approach. They say their children are happy to come into nursery and have developed their independence and become more confident since joining. Parents comment on the improvements their children have made in their communication skills, and they are using and understanding more vocabulary at home. Parents appreciate how well they and their children are supported with the transition to primary school.
• Staff promote children's independence effectively. Children help to clean tables before mealtimes and practise self-serving. Children open their packed lunches and make decisions about whether they need a plate or a bowl and which cutlery they need to select. Children can peel their own fruits. This helps children develop their self-care skills for the future.
• Staff have clear, simple rules in place for children to follow. The children know these rules and can explain what they mean and why they are needed. For example, children know they should not hold onto multiple toys as this means other children do not get a turn. Staff gently reinforce the rules with children who need more reminders about indoor and outdoor rules.
• Staff encourage children to access a wide variety of books. Children develop a love of literature, they are fully absorbed and listen intently as staff read with them enthusiastically. On occasion, staff do not manage interruptions well enough during storytime. This can cause some children to lose interest which can affect their learning experiences, overall.
• Staff consider children's physical development in planning the curriculum. For example, children roll large hoops across the playing field developing their gross motor skills. Staff support children to use stilts and space hoppers to further develop core strength. Consequently, children make progress using their large muscle groups and improve their stability.
• The key-person system is well established. Staff know what their key children can do and what the next steps in their learning are. They talk in detail about the children's progress in literacy and numeracy. However, occasionally, staff interrupt children's play and other learning experiences to focus on other activities. Consequently, staff do not always support children to engage in deep concentration consistently.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• help staff to recognise how to avoid interruptions during storytime to ensure that children remain focused and engaged
• review the structure of the day to allow children time to deepen their knowledge through play and activities of their own choice.