Field House Day Nursery - Tommies Childcare

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff provide children with a friendly, relaxed and inclusive environment that helps them to develop a strong sense of belonging. Staff develop strong bonds with the children. They talk to children in a kind and courteous way and show a genuine interest in what children say and do. Consequently, children demonstrate high levels of confidence and self-esteem. Staff support children to be independent and do as much as possible for themselves. For example, when children arrive they select their own placemat and choose and serve the cereal they would like. Toddlers dress themselves when they wake from their afternoon sleep. Pre-school children manage their own personal care. Children are confident to communicate their ideas and opinions. They learn to compromise. In the role-play area, children discuss how they will share the dolls. One child says, 'You hold the baby and I will brush her hair' and another child replies, 'Okay, then I will hold the baby and you do the nappy.'

Staff support children to develop positive attitudes towards their learning. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), develop the skills they need for their next stage of learning, including their move on to school.

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

• The manager and staff have high expectations for children. They constantly adapt and refocus their well-sequenced curriculum in response to the changing needs of the children. The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) works with external professionals to support children with SEND. Together, they develop targeted plans to help these children make the best possible progress.
• The manager holds supervision meetings with the staff and observes their practice regularly. She provides staff with feedback, sets targets and provides further training.
• Staff make learning fun. Children squeal with delight as they knock down building blocks. Staff use these opportunities to support children's mathematical development as they encourage them to count each time they rebuild the tower.
• Staff help children to learn about the importance of healthy lifestyles. Children spend long periods of time outdoors in the fresh air. They benefit from nutritious meals provided by the nursery. Staff teach children about good oral care. Children learn to keep themselves safe. They know they need to put on sun cream to protect themselves before spending time in the sunshine.
• Staff support children's physical development. Children have lots of opportunities to use their bodies in different ways. They bend, balance and jump as they negotiate an obstacle course in the garden. Children have great fun on the tyre swing. This helps them to develop muscle strength, balance and coordination as they twist their bodies and pump their arms and legs to swing and spin in different directions.
• The environment for babies is adapted well to support their developing mobility. They explore and investigate new textures as they move around the playroom. Outdoors, they use ride-on toys independently and learn to climb up the nursery slide. Staff know babies' individual routines and meet their needs well.
• Staff manage behaviour effectively. They provide children with lots of praise and encouragement. Children's behaviour is good. They share, take turns and play cooperatively.
• Staff model language well and extend children's vocabulary effectively. They help children to build sentences and learn new vocabulary. Babies babble happily and staff respond enthusiastically to continue the interaction. As children make magic potions, staff talk about the 'aroma' of the different herbs and spices. Staff explain that oregano is used on pizzas. However, occasionally, staff do not notice the quieter, less-confident children who stand on the side-lines.
• Staff provide children of all ages with a variety of opportunities to make marks and develop their small-muscle skills, in readiness for future writing. Babies squeeze wet sand and use chunky brushes they can hold easily. Pre-school children demonstrate good pencil control as they write letters of their name. However, at times, some staff do not always extend children's learning as they play.
• Parents are very complimentary about their experiences with the nursery. They appreciate the regular information they receive from staff about their children's progress. They comment on the good progress their children make, particularly in their confidence and independence skills.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to organise activities in a way that consistently meets the needs of all children, including the quieter, less-confident children, so that they can fully participate in activities
• support staff to consistently extend children's learning even further.