Discovery Childcare

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The manager and staff are aware of the potential impact that the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic has had on children. They recognise that some babies have had less opportunity to engage with others during the national lockdowns and swiftly introduce more gradual settling-in sessions. This helps babies to settle and feel assured in their new surroundings. Children are clearly very happy and thrive in this welcoming nursery. They form a special bond with their caring key person.

Staff promote children's learning and development well. They provide opportunities for children to 'explore their world, dream big and discover nature'. Babies challenge themselves when walking up and down ramps. They demonstrate an understanding of how to keep themselves safe when holding onto the hand rails. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) maintain attention during stories and complete actions to songs they enjoy. Children enjoy time outdoors in the fresh air. They are imaginative and work together with others to create a 'dragon' using the wide range of available resources.

Children understand the expectations for behaviour. They show a great deal of care and consideration for others. For example, children hug their friends when they are upset, to help them to feel better. Children play cooperatively and show respect for one another during small group experiences.

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

• Staff provide a broad range of challenging experiences that build on what children know and enjoy. For example, to expand on children's love for stories, such as the 'Gingerbread Man', staff create a 'rescue mission' for them to take part in. Children work together as a team to control a parachute and catch the Gingerbread Man as he falls through the air. They squeal with excitement as he bounces up and down and they attempt to keep him safe.
• The manager invests highly in her staff team. Supervision meetings focus on prioritising staff's well-being. The manager is quick to obtain additional help, such as specialist therapy, to support staff. This contributes towards staff's positive energy and enthusiasm within the nursery.
• Staff are proactive in sourcing early support for children who have SEND. They liaise closely with parents and other professionals and thread advice into children's individual support plans. This helps to close any gaps in their learning.
• Overall, staff support children's early language development well. For example, staff use effective questioning techniques to encourage older children to identify and name what they see in the environment. However, this is not consistent practice across the nursery. Occasionally, staff working with the youngest children miss opportunities to introduce new language during play and learning.
• Additionally, staff sometimes speak too quickly, such as when singing songs. This does not fully support all children to build on their range of vocabulary.
• Partnerships with parents are superb. Staff continually devise new ways to exchange information about children's learning and progress with parents. For example, following parental feedback, staff have created a 'communication book' to share more complex information with parents about children with SEND. They work together with parents to agree support for each child, such as during periods of transition and to tackle any challenging behaviour. Staff are currently improving their reading library, to further inspire children's early reading at home. Parents express that 'the staff are amazing'.
• Children enjoy getting involved in national gardening projects. They eagerly plant fruits, vegetables and herbs and quickly learn that this is where some of their healthy food comes from. Staff act quickly to close any gaps in children's physical development. For example, they introduce regular yoga sessions, to help children to develop their core strength and to improve their flexibility. Children remember what has been taught. They kindly offer support to their friends, to help them to master the 'superhero' pose.
• The well-qualified staff complete a range of training to promote children's safety and welfare. However, professional development opportunities are not focused equally on helping staff to advance their good knowledge of how to support children to make the highest rates of progress.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff working with the youngest children to adopt a more consistent approach in their teaching, that helps children to continue to build on the breadth of their vocabulary
• strengthen the focus for professional development and help all staff to gain an even greater knowledge of how to support children's learning further.