Doodles Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy in this calm and nurturing setting. Babies beam with excitement when they arrive, stretching their arms out wide to greet the adults with a hug. Older children ask their parents if they can attend nursery every day and say that they 'love playing here'. Children have built loving bonds with the adults, who prioritise their well-being and provide care and reassurance. Children's emotional needs are supported well.

Children benefit from the wide range of experiences on offer. They develop their curiosity and make links in their learning as they test out their ideas. For example, children predict which two paints they will need to mix to create a new colour. They later place two transparent, coloured shapes on top of each other to check if the colours will mix in the same way. Children recall how they planted the seeds from a watermelon and watered them to see if they would grow. Children are broadening their knowledge of the world around them and developing positive attitudes to learning.

Children behave well and respond positively to staff's high expectations. Staff encourage children to do things for themselves, making them very independent. Younger children learn to pull up their own zips and show great determination as they use their knife and fork to cut up their food. Older children select their own resources to make crafts and carefully place their own paintings on the shelves to dry. Children are confident and self-assured.

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

• Staff support children to develop their understanding of what it means to be healthy. They provide children with nutritious meals and encourage them to eat vegetables. Children enjoy tasting the strawberries they have grown in their outdoor area and talk enthusiastically about the healthy foods they found on their recent visit to the supermarket. Children are taught how to keep themselves and those around them healthy, by washing their hands thoroughly and covering their mouths with their arm when they cough.
• Parents are extremely complimentary about the nursery. They appreciate the high levels of communication that they receive about their children's development. They feel that their children have made rapid progress since they started. Parents say that staff 'go above and beyond' to ensure that their children get the support they need to succeed.
• Staff recognise the importance of children being physically active. Children have time outdoors every day, where they develop their coordination by riding bikes and balancing on climbing equipment. Children strengthen the small muscles in their hands as they scoop up the sand and use scissors to cut tiny shapes out of card. Children's physical skills are developing well.
• Children confidently use mathematical language in their play. They accurately count boxes as they stack them and compare how many segments of orange they have at snack time. Staff teach children the names of the shapes they have used to create their models. This supports children's understanding of early mathematical concepts and prepares them for the next stage in their learning.
• Staff understand how to promote children's language and communication skills. They talk to children about what they are doing and engage them in conversations about the books that they have read together. Older children are confident to speak to staff and visitors. They listen carefully to what is being said and respond thoughtfully using high-level vocabulary. For example, children explain that they have made a boulder with dough and discuss what might happen if it rolled away. Children are becoming confident communicators in this language-rich environment.
• Support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is a strength of this nursery. Staff communicate well with parents about any concerns that they have regarding children's development. They help parents to make links with specialist professionals to ensure that children receive the support that they need. Children with SEND make good progress from their starting points in all aspects of their development.
• Staff know the children well. They consider children's needs and interests when planning activities. However, when staff are interacting with children, they do not always know how to respond and adapt their teaching, so that these interactions consistently build on what children know and can do.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop staff's knowledge and understanding of how to respond and adapt their teaching, so that their interactions consistently build on what children know and can do.