First Footsteps (Leyland)

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive full of enthusiasm for the day ahead and quickly become engaged in learning. They are greeted warmly by staff who know them well. Staff play alongside children, keeping them safe and secure as they explore. Children are encouraged to consider the needs of others and resolve difficulties for themselves. Staff ask how they are feeling and give them time to express their emotions. Children chat confidently and enjoy sharing their experiences with adults. They can talk about their friends and the things that they enjoy doing.

Staff reflect with children about the things that they have learned and celebrate their achievements. For example, they are delighted to choose which of their paintings they would like to display in their own special frame on the wall. This helps children to feel special and understand what makes them unique. Children behave beautifully. They take turns and share their resources freely. Staff are positive role models from the start. For example, they ask babies 'Can I just wipe your nose?' This fosters a culture of care and respect. Children persevere with tricky tasks and offer each other help to overcome problems. They make good progress in their learning.

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

• Staff have created environments that support children to develop their knowledge and understanding in all areas. They provide a curriculum that builds the skills children will need for the next stage in their learning. For example, babies begin to recognise themselves and their friends by looking at photos. Toddlers have their things labelled with their photo and name. This means that they can find their own cup or coat peg, and those of their friends. By pre-school, children can recognise which items belong to who by recognising written names.
• Children of all ages enjoy sharing books with adults. They can talk about their favourite stories and some traditional tales. Children listen intently as staff read aloud with expression and humour. This is helping children to develop a love of books and extending their vocabulary.
• Children enjoy interesting outings into the local community. They continue thinking about the things they have seen once back in nursery. For example, after looking at archways in the town centre, they made arched structures for themselves. Children are learning about the world around them.
• The learning environment provides many opportunities for children to develop their mathematical knowledge. This builds from using the mathematical language of size and shape for babies and toddlers, through to recognising numerals and counting groups of objects for children in pre-school. This is helping to build a solid understanding of a range of mathematical concepts.
• Staff chat enthusiastically with children as they play. These interactions are always warm and encouraging. Overall, staff use interactions effectively to extend thinking. However, this is not consistently the case, and some staff are less skilled in enhancing children's learning through conversation and play. This means that the learning potential for all children is not always maximised.
• Leaders work well with staff on a day-to-day basis to implement their vision for the nursery. They have a wealth of knowledge and experience to share with the staff team. Leaders encourage staff to access training and development opportunities. Staff feel well supported by the leadership team.
• Parents and carers say that staff go 'above and beyond' to meet children's needs. They value the strong bonds that their children have with caring staff who make nursery feel like 'one big family'. Parents say that their children are challenged and encouraged to try new things. They enjoy the ideas shared with them so that they can support their children's development at home.
• Staff understand how children learn and can assess their progress accurately. They swiftly identify children who may need additional support and take action. Staff work effectively in partnership with parents and other agencies. They use any additional funding wisely to meet individual needs. As a result, all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities make good progress from their starting points.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• further develop the skills of all staff so that they consistently use interactions to extend children's thinking and maximise learning.