Explorers Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children eagerly come into nursery excited to see their friends. They have strong bonds with their key person and beam with delight when they see them. This helps them to feel settled as they know their key person will provide reassurance and cuddles if needed. For example, very young children put their arms up for cuddles when they are feeling tired. Children are kind and thoughtful. They show high levels of empathy from a very young age. For example, very young children pat each other's shoulders to provide reassurance when needed. Older children offer solutions to help others when there are minor conflicts. For instance, when children want to play with the same toy, other children find toys that are similar and offer these as suggestions instead.

Children love looking at books, and staff frequently read stories to them. Children remember their favourite phrases and are keen to share. For example, they eagerly shout out, 'it's a squash and a squeeze' as staff read one of their favourite stories to them.

Children develop their independence skills through everyday routines. For example, children get themselves ready for their nap. They take their shoes off as well as clothing, such as jumpers. They put these in their own baskets before snuggling under the blanket.

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

• Staff implement an ambitious curriculum that builds on what children know as they develop. For example, early mark-making activities focus on children's large-muscle movements. Activities then become more focused on small-muscle skills as they get older and begin to write.
• Staff have a strong knowledge of the children and their families. This means that they adapt activities to each child's individual needs as staff know exactly what children's next steps are. They also provide support to families and signpost them in the direction of additional help and information as needed. This helps children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to make good progress in their learning and development.
• Children with SEND are supported well. The strong support provided by key persons and the special educational needs coordinator means any gaps in children's learning and development start to close quickly. Staff tailor their expectations of children's behaviour to each individual as they celebrate the uniqueness of each child and the milestones special to them. This helps children to thrive.
• Staff provide interesting and exciting opportunities for children to explore. This is appropriate to each child's age and stage of development. For example, older children learn how to make their own play dough by choosing their own ingredients and quantities. Younger children explore the different textures of flour and cornflour as they role play making 'pizza'. These activities develop children's curiosity and critical-thinking skills.
• Overall, children's language development is supported well. For example, staff introduce new words to children, such as 'scrape', and frequently sing different nursery rhymes. However, the development of speech sounds is not as consistently supported. For example, on occasion, staff do not use a consistent approach to support children who are ready to learn about letter sounds. This then impacts on the progress children make with their language development.
• The manager has implemented supervision sessions to provide support, coaching and training for staff. Although staff comment positively on the support they receive from the manager, supervision needs to be embedded to identify any inconsistencies in practice and strengthen the good quality of teaching further.
• Parents and staff have a strong relationship and work well in partnership together. Parents comment on how happy, friendly and supportive the staff are at nursery. They explain that they receive regular updates about their child's day and development. Parents comment that the updates help them to support their children's learning well at home.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen ways to help children hear and practise using speech sounds so children who are ready for the next stage of learning make even more progress in their language skills
• embed further the supervision processes for staff, to ensure that teaching of the highest quality is consistent across the nursery.