Dot's Tots Day Nursery Limited

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and settled at this inclusive nursery. They are greeted at the door by friendly staff who know children well, which helps them to feel safe and comfortable. Children follow the established routines well. They put away their belongings, find their photo to show they have arrived and settle quickly. This shows how well children develop their self-care skills in preparation for their eventual move to school. A varied and ambitious curriculum is in place, which supports all children's good progress from their starting points.

Staff support children's capabilities to develop their physical skills. For example, children are proficient at manoeuvring wheeled toys, climbing and using the slide and practising using one-handed tools, strengthening their small hand muscles. This supports children to develop the skills needed for early writing. Staff create a positive atmosphere for children to feel self-assured and develop their self-esteem and confidence.

Children's behaviour is good. Leaders and staff understand children's personal traits and learning styles well. They implement suitable strategies for children who may need additional support to focus. For example, staff give one-to-one support for children to use the sensory room as a calming space as well as targeted focus activities.

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

• Leaders, alongside their staff team, have a clear and ambitious vision of what they want children to achieve. As a result, they plan and deliver a well-thought-out curriculum. Staff know what skills children have learned, what they want to teach them next and why. Staff understand the importance of continually building on skills children have already learned, preparing them for future success.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), and children in receipt of additional funding, are supported well. Leaders use funding thoughtfully to provide a specific sensory room, a calming area and resources that these children require. Staff work closely with external professionals, such as the local authority's SEND advisers and speech and language therapists, to ensure children have appropriate, targeted support to narrow any emerging gaps.
• Staff are good role models and interact well with children. However, at times, staff are unsure of their roles and responsibilities during the routines of the day. Staff sometimes do not organise themselves effectively, particularly when routines and transitions change. As a result, they do not have a full awareness of what is happening around them, to enable them to meet children's needs fully.
• Staff organise a variety of sensory activities that are popular with children of all ages. These activities provide opportunities for children to explore different materials, such as flour, sand, water and paint. Through these experiences, children develop their dexterity skills by using their hands and exploring the materials, and they improve their language and social skills.
• Leaders place a strong focus on communication and language development within the curriculum. Staff use simple, age-appropriate language with all children. Children enjoy singing nursery rhymes and familiar songs with staff. Staff are particularly skilled in supporting children with SEND and those who speak English as an additional language. They provide targeted intervention activities to support these children. Staff use a range of different strategies to support children's developing language skills, such as visual aids. Consequently, all children make progress with their language skills before starting school.
• Staff support children to develop mathematical concepts by encouraging them to count and recognise different shapes during play. For example, children count how many shapes they have cut out of paper and count along their number line. However, at times, staff do not consider how to explore and deepen children's understanding further and include different mathematical concepts.
• Partnership working with parents is a key strength of this setting. Parents compliment how staff prioritise care for their children. Parents are impressed with the variety of exciting activities their children enjoy. They feel well supported by leaders and staff, who share strategies and ideas with them to continue their children's learning at home.
• Leaders use evaluation well to identify areas for improvement. They offer staff regular support and coaching and are skilful at giving feedback to staff. This promotes good staff morale and improved staff practice, resulting in them meeting children's needs effectively.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen how daily routines are organised and managed to ensure staff understand what is expected of them during transitions to enable them to consistently promote children's care and well-being
• develop staff's confidence and expertise in teaching early mathematics to help to deepen children's understanding of mathematical concepts.