Dunky's Day Nursery Sankey

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children of all ages happily and safely access the activities on offer. Babies thoroughly enjoy reading books. They join in with actions and eagerly repeat words. Toddlers show eagerness and enthusiasm as they independently choose what they want to play with. They enjoy digging and planting in the vegetable patch. Pre-school children fill large syringes with water and show great delight as they press them and water comes out. This helps to develop the strength in their hands. Children are motivated and display a positive attitude to learning.

Children behave well and understand the high expectations staff have of them. They follow instructions and show great maturity. For example, pre-school children use a sand timer to safely manage turns on the swing. Children sit calmly and wait for their turn. They look at the timer and politely remind others when their turn is finished. Children are respectful to others, which is due to staff's consistent reminders about 'being kind'. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders have placed great importance on ensuring that children develop their resilience and emotional well-being. They have ensured that every child has an extremely supportive relationship with at least one adult. As a result, children feel secure and show great confidence.

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

• Staff weave mathematical concepts through children's play and experiences. For example, as children fill buckets with water, staff use language such as 'full', 'empty', 'more' and 'less'. Those working with younger children continuously model counting and sing a range of number songs. Young children use this language in their play and confirm their understanding as they count pine cones and bracelets.
• Overall, staff are skilled at supporting children's emerging language skills. They engage in back-and-forth interactions, model conversations, use repetition and descriptive language. However, although staff ask thought-provoking questions, at times, the questioning is overwhelming. Children are not given sufficient time to think, respond and share their ideas.
• Staff are enthusiastic and motivated. They are led by passionate leaders who strive to provide high standards in children's care and education. Staff meetings are used for staff to share ideas and reflect on practice. However, all recent training for staff has been around meeting the statutory requirements. This means that professional development is not always sharply focused to ensure that the highest level of teaching is consistently achieved.
• Support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities is strong. Staff are knowledgeable about children's next steps. They implement clear and consistent strategies in close partnership with parents and other professionals.
• This supports all children to make good progress in their learning.
• Staff teach children the importance of being healthy. They learn about dental hygiene and being physically active. Children learn about healthy diets and where food comes from. They plant vegetables to be used in the meals they eat. Children climb and balance with skill and confidence on an exciting obstacle course that they designed. As a result, they develop a positive attitude to their physical health.
• Staff use books to help children to feel secure and settled. Children take books home to share with their families. Staff read a book and discuss with children how the different characters feel. As a result, children learn the language to be able to competently discuss their feelings. During discussions and games, children explain when they are 'happy' or 'scared'. These activities help children to develop an understanding of their emotions.
• Partnerships with parents are effective. Parent representatives give feedback to managers, which is used to plan experiences for children. Parents praise the staff team and comment positively on the progress that their children have made. Staff communicate well with parents to ensure that they are fully informed about their children's experiences. They share ideas for activities at home and help parents to manage routines such as mealtimes and sleep.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop staff's questioning and interaction skills further, to consistently support children's communication and language development
• enhance staff's development opportunities, to help raise the quality of teaching to the highest level.