First Step Daycare & Nursery Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff greet parents and children with a warm and friendly welcome. Children are happy and keen to start their day at this inclusive nursery. New children are supported well by their key person, who spends time getting to know their interests and needs. Consequently, children form positive attachments with their key person. This helps children settle quickly and feel safe in the environment.

Children have opportunities to play indoors or outdoors. They focus and concentrate on their chosen activities for long periods. For example, babies enjoy using magnifying glasses to explore bugs and insects in the garden. Pre-school children enjoy exploring the home corner. For instance, they mix spices, noodles and water and then show staff the mixture. Staff talk enthusiastically about the mixture and give them praise, which helps to promote children's creativity and imagination.

Pre-school children eagerly talk to the inspector about their class pet, a goldfish, and what it eats. They also explain what they like about the nursery. They are confident around authorised visitors. Children understand the high expectations staff have of them. They play well together and form strong friendships. As a result, children develop social skills that prepare them well for their next stage in learning, including their eventual move to school.

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

• The long-serving manager speaks passionately about her commitment to providing children with high-quality education and care. She self-evaluates the provision regularly and makes positive changes. For example, she has reduced paperwork to maximise the time staff spend interacting with the children.
• The manager uses additional funding, such as early years pupil premium, to enrich children's learning and experiences. The manager and staff identify potential areas of need and use the funding to support children. For instance, funding is used to purchase specialist resources for individual children. This contributes to children making good progress during their time at the nursery.
• The manager and staff have a well-planned and ambitious curriculum. They know what they want all children to learn. The curriculum focuses on promoting children's communication and language development. This helps children make good progress in their speaking and listening skills from their starting points. However, staff do not consistently promote the use of the home languages of children who speak English as an additional language during their play and learning to help them make even better progress.
• Children learn about feelings and emotions. Staff read 'The Colour Monster' story to children to help them understand and manage their emotions appropriately.
• Children enjoy listening to this story and recall which colours depict which emotion. In addition, they use facial expressions to show how they feel. This helps children to understand their feelings and vocalise them to others.
• Staff observe and assess children's development regularly. They use this information to plan inspiring, age-appropriate activities to aid children's development. Children engage in adult-led and self-initiated play. During play, staff ask children questions and give them time to respond. However, they do not consistently use questions to challenge children's learning and extend their knowledge further.
• Parent partnerships are strong. Parents describe the staff as 'kind, friendly and approachable'. Parents mention that their children have made good progress with their confidence, language and self-care skills. Staff speak to parents daily and use an online childcare application to communicate children's achievements and share information. Parents have positive views about the nursery and highly recommend it to others.
• Staff ensure that children's personal needs are met. For instance, they talk to younger children respectfully and tell them when it is time to change their nappy. During nappy-changing times, they speak and sing with the children. These positive experiences help to promote children's emotional well-being.
• Children learn about the importance of leading healthy lifestyles. Children are provided with well-balanced, nutritious meals and snacks. They recognise the difference between healthy and unhealthy foods and the impact on their bodies. Children's health and well-being are supported well.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen staff's understanding of how to further support children with English as an additional language during their play and learning so that they make even better progress
• enhance staff's questioning techniques to challenge children's thinking and increase their knowledge to the highest possible level.