Dottie Tots Nursery School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

On arrival, children show an eagerness to enter this inviting nursery with its home-from-home atmosphere. Staff are warm, nurturing, and highly responsive to children's emotional needs. Children are highly motivated and quickly engage in the learning experiences staff have provided. For example, they excitedly work together to use large wooden planks and foam bricks to build complex constructions. Staff engage in playful interactions with children and encourage them to use and develop their physical skills. For instance, children show delight as they run, balance on, and jump off tree stumps safely.

Leaders and staff have created an inclusive, child-centred curriculum that is shaped around children's interests and what they need to learn next. There is a strong focus on independence to prepare children for school. For instance, babies learn to feed themselves with spoons, and older children learn to use safety knives to chop up their fruit. Staff are always close by to provide support and positive praise for children, which empowers them to have a go.

The key-person system and bespoke settling-in processes ensure that children's emotional well-being is at the heart of everything they do. Staff gain a wealth of information on the children and get to know them very well. The detailed information they gather is effectively used to plan activities around children's interests, needs, and abilities.

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

• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those in receipt of additional funding are well supported. Leaders and staff act promptly when they have concerns about children's development. Staff work closely with other professionals to identify and implement interventions to help support children with SEND. Additional funding is used effectively to enhance children's learning experiences. For instance, leaders have used the funding to provide special resources and activities to support these children.
• Staff feel well supported in their roles, with regular supervision and access to ongoing training. For example, recent training has improved staff knowledge in how to support babies' development. However, leaders recognise there are still areas for improvement, especially with supporting less confident staff with their interactions with children.
• Partnerships with parents are a strength of the nursery. Parents receive daily feedback and updates on their children's progress through conversations, parents evenings and via the online app. They comment on the lending library, where children enjoy choosing books to read at home. This helps to promote continued learning at home. Parents say the nursery and staff are amazing and they cannot express their gratitude for all the support they receive.
• Staff use books to teach children new knowledge. For example, when children listen to the story about a sunflower, the staff link this knowledge to a planting activity. Children enjoy planting seeds, tending to them, and observing them grow into sunflowers. Staff explain how plants use their roots to drink water, which helps them to grow. Children confidently use new words, such as 'stem' and petals'.
• Generally, staff demonstrate a secure understanding of the curriculum and know what they want children to learn. However, mathematical language or concepts are not yet consistently woven into children's play and experiences to build on what they already know. For example, at times, staff do not extend their learning about capacity as they fill and empty containers using water.
• Staff value the diverse family backgrounds of the children. They encourage families to share their cultures and be involved in the celebrations. For example, children wear traditional outfits when learning about Eid and taste traditional dishes. This helps them to learn about the similarities and differences between themselves and others.
• The nursery is a highly valued part of the community. They support community projects by organising sponsored walks and donate funds raised to a local charity. Children enjoy helping people who are less fortunate than they are.
• Staff are good role models and treat children with kindness and respect. They have implemented strategies, such as the use of sand timers, to support children to learn to share and take turns. Children are kind and play well together.
• Children demonstrate that they have learned the routines of the setting very well and are confident and comfortable. They form close bonds with the nurturing staff. For example, babies receive cuddles, and older children confidently ask for support from staff if they need help.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen the procedures for coaching and mentoring staff to provide more consistency in the quality of interactions
• develop further the curriculum for mathematics to improve children's knowledge of mathematical concepts.