Echoes Childcare

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive at nursery excited for their day. They explore their environment with ease and confidence, choosing activities that interest them. For example, they engage in water play, sensory activities, puzzles and role play.

All children benefit from a broad curriculum. They enjoy a wide range of activities throughout the day. For example, they use manipulative skills as they play with spaghetti and dough. They also learn about the world around them and how to care for their environment, such as planting cress seeds. Children are happy, actively engaged and have a positive attitude to learning. All children make good progress.

Staff know the children in their care well. They support them in achieving their next steps through planned activities and by engaging in their play. For example, staff help children to talk about their feelings and build friendships with others. Staff interactions are warm, caring and responsive. For example, they ask questions and talk to children about their experiences as they share stories. Children form positive relationships with staff and enjoy playing with their friends.

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

• Leaders design an ambitious curriculum that supports children in preparing for the next steps in their education. For example, they plan for children to become 'brilliant bookworms', 'confident communicators' and 'active movers'. Staff in each of the rooms plan a range of activities to support children's development. For example, babies use their senses to explore sand and water, and older children practise physical skills as they climb on the outdoor equipment. However, staff do not always extend children's mathematical knowledge and thinking skills.
• Staff model and support babies' communication skills by talking with them as they play. They introduce new words such as 'pop' as they play with bubbles. Staff ask older children questions and encourage them to share their experiences and ideas. For example, children enthusiastically talk about the models they have built. However, occasionally, staff do not widen children's vocabulary and language skills further to allow them to hear and use new words.
• Children's personal, social and emotional development is highly valued. Staff manage transition times effectively, which they refer to as 'settles'. During these times, staff ensure that children feel emotionally secure when they first start nursery and as they move to new rooms. Staff use minor disputes as they arise to help children identify their feelings and begin to understand how their behaviour may affect others. Staff encourage children to share and take turns, which they willingly do. Children's behaviour is good. They are respectful of each other and their environment.
• Children have lots of opportunities to enjoy books and stories. In the baby room, staff use sleep pods to create cosy areas to share books with children. Children often choose to look at books, and staff read these in an engaging way, encouraging children to join in. In the pre-school room, staff link activities to chosen texts. They encourage children to make their own books and tell stories, supporting their early literacy skills.
• Staff and leaders identify and support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). For example, they help children to develop their social skills and provide additional activities. Leaders are proactive in contacting external agencies to access further support. They use extra funding to meet individual needs. For example, they have increased staff ratios and purchased new resources. Children with SEND make good progress from their starting points.
• Leaders are very reflective and regularly evaluate the quality of their service. They identify areas that could be improved, for example developing the outdoor area to meet the needs of children following the COVID-19 pandemic. Leaders provide additional support to staff through training and mentoring as needed. Staff comment that they feel valued and supported.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• further extend children's language and thinking skills through planned and child-initiated activities
• review the curriculum for early mathematics to build on what older children already know and can do, to further enhance their mathematical knowledge.