Domi Domingo Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thrive in this setting. They are cared for by a cohesive staff team who know and understand their roles and responsibilities. They follow children's play, enabling them to build their imagination, creating characters in their stories. Children's creativity is not interrupted with routine tasks, and staff enable them to conclude their play.

Children are very happy in the safe and secure environment. Staff are caring and responsive to the needs of younger children and those who require reassurance. They cuddle them close and respond to their needs and wants. They anticipate when children are tired and follow their individual routines. Staff manage transitions throughout the setting well, helping children to feel settled and secure.

Children's development is closely monitored. Staff obtain detailed information about children's starting points during home visits and during ongoing assessment. Consequently, any delays in development are swiftly acted on to ensure all children have the opportunity to progress.

Children behave well. Staff act as positive role models ensuring a calm environment, which children respond positively to. Children play well with their peers. They wait their turns to go on the outdoor play equipment, and they work together building towers out of soft bricks. Staff encourage younger children to use their manners. They are supported to manage their emotions and be kind to their friends.

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

• Staff are supported to implement a varied curriculum focusing on the areas of learning. They help to adapt the curriculum to meet the educational needs of the children in the room, monitoring the progress they make through regular assessments. Staff use their observations to identify new areas for children to work towards, to ensure they are making good progress in their development.
• Staff use engaging dialogue to draw children into their conversation. They introduce new words as children play. They encourage language development from the early stages of babbling and sounds, to using fuller sentences. However, staff do not respond in a timely manner to children's reliance on dummies, which can have a negative impact on their language and communication skills.
• Staff support children to learn about nature and the environment. They excitedly look for insects, viewing them with their magnifying glasses. Children talk about caterpillars becoming butterflies and count the spots on the ladybirds. Staff interactions enable children to become critical thinkers. They learn about how vehicles move, and how to differ their speeds by raising and lowering the ramps.
• A strong keyworker system ensures that children's developmental needs are communicated well to all staff. Staff know children well and are able to meet their individual needs. This includes when additional needs are identified, which may require input from other professionals. This ensures all children have the potential to reach their full potential.
• Children learn about healthy choices and where their food comes from. The nursery provides home cooked, organic food. Children are beginning to grow their own produce to eat and plan to compost any leftovers. This contributes to their developing understanding about the environment and life cycles.
• Children's independence is promoted through everyday activities. Older children help to give out the cutlery at lunch time. Children wipe their hands and face with support from staff. Children are encouraged to make choices about their play and independently explore the interesting range of resources available.
• Leaders place a strong emphasis on staff well-being. They provide an open-door policy, encouraging feedback from staff on the running of the provision. Staff are supported through a programme of supervision which monitors both the welfare of staff and children. This is also used to identify staff training needs and invest in their ongoing professional development. Newly recruited staff are supported well through a detailed induction process, ensuring they are appropriately skilled for their role.
• Although the nursery is in its infancy, leaders have a clear development plan and vision for the setting. They accurately reflect and identify the areas of priority to continue to build on and bring about improvement in the environment and the provision.
• There is a strong focus on parent partnerships. The nursery has a parent engagement group to support parents to feel involved and empowered in the care and education of their children. Regular workshops are offered to support parents in managing specific issues in the home such as toilet training and managing behaviour. This ensures children's learning and development can be continued at home.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to monitor the use of dummies and promote children's developing speech.