Dizzys Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children flourish and thrive at this welcoming nursery. As soon as children arrive, they are immersed in opportunities that inspire them to investigate, explore and learn. Children decide where to play, inside or outside, choosing from a range of experiences on offer. They spend time readily transporting items from one area to another. For example, children take play dough into their role play to extend their learning through using their imagination.

Children thoroughly enjoy their time at the nursery. Staff link well-known songs to children's play as they eagerly join in with the words and actions. Children form strong and trusting bonds with their key person and other children. Staff are excellent role models and children benefit from their nurturing, caring approach. This has a positive impact on children's emotional well-being.

Children have a wealth of opportunities to develop their physical skills. Crawling babies have free-flow access to the garden and join staff as they discover ladybirds in the soil. Toddlers delight as they move up and down the steep slopes in the garden. Staff maximise children's learning through high-quality and timely interactions. For example, when children wish to roll large tyres, staff support the children to learn to risk assess their own play as they look for hazards together. This supports children's growing understanding of how to keep themselves safe.

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

• The manager has a robust understanding of child development and a passion for providing a provision where everyone feels included. The manager and staff establish a well-planned curriculum that focuses on supporting children to develop social skills, confidence and resilience through positive experiences. This helps to prepare children for the next stage in their learning.
• The manager and staff have high expectations for what children can achieve. They provide an extremely inclusive environment where children can explore, play and learn. When they identify children with emerging gaps in their learning, they provide individual and small-group sessions to focus on children's individual learning needs. This has enabled all children to make significant progress in their learning and development since starting at the nursery.
• Children show genuine care and consideration for others and demonstrate advanced social skills. For instance, when children notice their friends are struggling with strong feelings, they place a hand on their tummy to help calm and soothe them. Other children politely ask staff to help less confident children to put on dressing-up clothes so they can join in with their play. As a result, children are kind and courteous to their friends.
• Staff create an environment that encourages children to be confident speakers.
• For instance, they comment on what children are doing, linking words to their actions. For example, as toddlers use play dough, staff sing songs and describe actions such as 'squeeze', 'poke' and 'roll' as they play. Staff consistently use Makaton and visual lanyards to communicate with children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, to help support their understanding during the day.
• Children are curious learners. Staff provide a range of natural resources and allow children the space to explore and experiment to stimulate their thinking. For example, children experiment with moving items down some guttering. They test out their ideas and take time to consolidate what they have learned. As a result, children display excellent attitudes to learning and are confident to think for themselves.
• Partnerships with parents are especially strong and have a positive impact on children's learning and development. Parents report seeing significant progress in their children's development. Parents value the personalised and detailed feedback they receive on their child's activities and progress. They state this helps them to know what their child is doing and how they can best support the child's learning at home. Parents express that the nursery is the 'second family' for their children.
• The manager is extremely committed to ensuring that staff receive ongoing professional development to strive for continuous improvement. She is acutely aware of staff's different learning styles and uses a variety of methods to support their growing knowledge and skills. For example, she provides a wealth of resources to staff in different formats, such as podcasts and written literature. As a result, staff are motivated to constantly evolve and give children the best possible start in life.