Eco Babe Private Day Nursery Limited

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff create a supportive and caring environment for children. This helps them to settle and form strong bonds with their key person. Staff work closely with parents to get to know the children. They use this information to help them develop children's self-confidence and to help prepare them for the next stage in their learning. Children's transitions throughout the nursery are smooth.

Staff engage children in a range of experiences that provoke curiosity. They are successful in helping children develop positive attitudes to their learning. Babies sit on their key person's knee and become engrossed in stories. Toddlers engage in water play as staff model mathematical concepts, such as 'full' and 'empty'. Pre-school children proudly recite the knowledge they have learned about oral hygiene and plaque on their teeth. Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour. They help children to embed the key skills that they need to manage their own behaviour. For example, staff play 'stop and go' games with children, to help them develop their listening skills. Staff model sensitive and caring behaviour, and they talk to children about turn taking and being kind to their friends. Children are developing respect and understanding for the feelings of others.

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

• The manager has devised a curriculum that intends to build upon much of what children know and can do. Staff have clear intentions for learning during planned activities, which helps children to make good progress. For example, children benefit from a range of experiences that promote their physical skills. Younger children develop their hand-eye coordination by rolling balls back and forth with staff. Pre-school children confidently use knives to cut through play dough. Children's physical development is progressing well.
• Staff promote language skills effectively. Children enjoy hearing stories and joining in with key words. Using thought-provoking questions, staff develop children's imaginations. Children are developing a large vocabulary.
• The manager models good practice and provides staff with a variety of in-house training. This helps them to develop their knowledge and supports the delivery of a good-quality education. However, the systems for professional development are not consistently embedded. Occasionally, staff's next steps are not precisely focused. Staff do not consistently deliver high-quality interactions during children's free-play sessions. Therefore, at times, children's learning is not fully enhanced to help them get the very best from their spontaneous learning.
• Staff promote children's mathematical development and build upon their prior learning. Developing an interest in numbers is embedded from an early age. Staff count objects in books with babies. Through play, staff model mathematical vocabulary to support children's understanding. Children are developing a secure knowledge of mathematical concepts.
• Staff support children to be kind and respectful. They teach them the importance of sharing and help them to develop empathy for others. For example, staff help children understand that others may be less fortunate than themselves by having a toy collection for Christmas. Children explain, 'some children do not have presents, so we are going to be kind and buy them one.' They are developing good social skills.
• A well-embedded key-person system helps staff to have a good knowledge of the children and their individual needs. They help all children to form trusting relationships. Babies are extremely secure. They engage with their key person in supportive back-and-forth interactions throughout the day. Children's strong emotional well-being helps them to explore, try new things and to learn well.
• Staff help all children develop a sense of belonging. They teach children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, how to express their feelings. Pre-school children tell staff how they feel and why. Parents explain how well children who are bilingual are made to feel included. Staff learn key words in children's home languages and use them in their interactions. The curriculum is accessible to all children.
• Staff support children's health and well-being effectively. They make sure all children have daily access to fresh air. Staff teach children self-care skills from an early stage, such as wiping their noses or washing their hands and faces. Children are learning how to independently follow healthy practices.
• Parents speak highly of this homely nursery. Regular communication helps them understand how their children are developing. The manager provides parents with up-to-date advice and ideas to support learning at home. This helps to ensure consistency between home and nursery.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen staff's interactions with children, particularly during spontaneous play, to help consistently enhance children's learning.