Daybreak Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thoroughly enjoy their time at this friendly and welcoming nursery. They demonstrate that they feel happy, safe and secure. Children benefit from warm interactions with caring and nurturing staff. Babies seek out their key person for cuddles and reassurance. This helps to develop their confidence and raise their self-esteem. Older children navigate around the nursery, excitedly choosing activities that spark their interest. For instance, children enjoy filling up their post bag pretending to post and deliver letters to their friends. Children receive their letters and reply with 'please' and 'thank you' without prompting. Children's behaviour is good. They demonstrate a positive attitude towards their learning as they become fully engrossed in activities. For example, children concentrate as they adjust wooden planks to make an obstacle course.

Children enjoy a good variety of activities and learning experiences. Babies explore water with enthusiasm. They excitedly pour and mix water with a variety of tools. Older children spend time developing their creative ideas as they explore paint, sand and dough. Children have many opportunities to develop their physical skills. For example, older children use tongs to move and sort dinosaurs. Babies crawl to find their favourite toys and pull themselves to stand on equipment. This helps to support their large-muscle development.

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

• Parents speak very highly of the nursery and comment that their children make good progress and are happy. They work well together to support children's learning at home. Parents find the weekly newsletter an excellent way of finding out what activities their children take part in. Parents comment that staff are 'amazing' and 'fantastic support'.
• Children's behaviour is good. Staff are excellent role models. Children have ample opportunities to develop their social skills and they display positive behaviours. For example, children play cooperatively and share toys. As a result, children learn about the expectations in the nursery.
• Staff monitor children's development closely. They use assessment effectively to identify any gaps in children's progress. This helps children to make good progress from their initial starting points. However, occasionally, staff do not implement the curriculum intentions as well as possible. This does not fully challenge children's learning and development to promote further progress. For example, sometimes, staff do not fully consider how to extend older children's developing independence skills.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported very well. Staff refer swiftly when children need additional support. Children benefit from individual learning plans. Staff collaborate with a wide range of professionals, such as speech and language therapists, health visitors and the local authority. This helps children to achieve the best possible outcomes.
• Children have a can-do attitude to their learning. For example, older children hold out their arms to support themselves to balance across wooden planks. Children cheer as they reach the other side. However, the outdoor environment is not as effectively planned as indoors, and does not provide children with as many exciting experiences. This means that children who prefer to learn outdoors do not get as many learning opportunities.
• Leaders are a good support for the team. Staff have access to regular courses, online and face to face. Leaders work alongside their team daily and share good practice. They organise regular supervision meetings and training to ensure that staff keep their knowledge current. Leaders value their staff's well-being. Staff comment that they are very happy to work at this setting.
• Staff provide children with a language-rich environment. Children develop their vocabulary by learning new words, such as 'cocoon' and 'tadpole'. Staff encourage children to join in with familiar rhymes and songs. Older children join in with the actions to 'Twinkle, twinkle little star'. Children develop a love of books as staff read familiar stories. Babies excitedly turn the pages of a sensory book. This helps to develop children's listening and speaking skills.
• Staff support children to learn about being healthy. For example, children know that they must wash their hands before eating. Staff provide a healthy lunch for children and discuss the benefits of eating healthily.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen staff's understanding of the learning intentions to help them to challenge children's learning and development and further extend their progress
• develop the curriculum in the outdoor area to provide more varied learning experiences for children, particularly those children who prefer to learn outdoors.