Fireflies Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff provide a warm welcome at this inviting nursery. Children happily separate from their carers and settle quickly into the routines of the day. They approach staff for cuddles, and staff respond with warmth and kindness. Staff working with babies and the youngest children provide a loving and nurturing environment. Staff gently implement the rules and boundaries of the nursery. For example, they help children to learn to understand about 'kind hands', 'good listening' and 'helping others'. Children help to pour drinks for their friends. They fondly greet each other as they arrive for the day. As a result, children are building important relationships with others and learn how to behave well.

Leaders develop a rich and varied curriculum that builds on what children already know and can do. Staff gather valuable information about children that helps them to understand their likes and interests. They use this knowledge to focus activities and lead the children's learning. As a result, children show a positive attitude to learning and are keen to know more. Staff provide children with a wide range of activities and resources that consistently motivate them to play and learn. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make good progress in their learning from their various starting points.

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

• Leaders are passionate about supporting the diverse community they serve. They are keen to give all children the best early years experiences to support their future learning. They regularly monitor staff's practice and provide them with constructive feedback. This helps to improve the overall quality of teaching.
• Staff say that they feel well supported in their roles, and morale is good. Staff work well as a team. They deploy themselves effectively to keep children safe, including during mealtimes and when children are playing outside. As a result, children learn and play in a happy, safe environment.
• Staff get to know all children well. They regularly observe children to understand their levels of development. Staff are prompt to identify any delays in children's learning. The special educational needs and/or disabilities coordinator provides intervention for any child with gaps in their development. They work with external agencies to gain any extra support children may need. This means that all children are supported to make the progress that they are capable of.
• Staff provide good support for children's communication and language. They introduce new words, such as 'aquarium', as they read about mermaids. This helps to broaden children's vocabulary. Staff challenge children with open-ended questions and role model play. However, sometimes, staff speak quite quickly or continue to speak at the same time as children. This affects how well children hear and their ability to share their ideas in back-and-forth conversations.
• Children are proud of their achievements. Work displayed around the nursery is clearly that of the children. Staff encourage them to be creative and follow their own ideas. They regularly praise children. This builds children's sense of pride and self-esteem. However, sometimes staff do not recognise when they need to adapt an activity to maintain the focus and interest of all the children participating. For example, some children sit for too long at circle time and they become distracted. This affects their engagement in learning.
• Support for children who speak English as an additional language is good. Staff get to know each child and their family background. They use this information to support children's communication in dual languages. Staff learn key words in several different languages to support the diverse community. This means children have the opportunity to practise speaking in their home language and English.
• Parents speak very highly about the staff and the support they receive. They comment positively about the progress their children make and attribute this to the nursery provision. Staff share information in a variety of ways. Daily sharing of information via an online app keeps parents informed of their child's experiences and progress. Parents know who their child's key person is and what their child is working towards next. Parents are invited to workshops and staff provide ideas for ways to continue learning at home. This supports parents to build on children's knowledge further.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• build further on staff practice so that they leave enough opportunity for children to participate in back-and-forth conversations
• support staff to recognise when activities need to be adapted to meet the needs of all the children participating.