First Steps Day Care (Stokesley) Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thoroughly enjoy their time at this nursery where they relate well to the staff and receive lots of loving care. Children settle quickly and are well motivated to learn. Staff inspire children to gain independence, try new things and take pride in their achievements, such as writing their name on a whiteboard. Babies are encouraged to make many choices in their play and select resources and activities for themselves. Children are not pressured to complete activities to fit in with daily routines. Staff praise children's perseverance and concentration. Children are thrilled to earn a special leaf on the 'Achievement Tree'. Children form very secure attachments with their key person and wider staff team. They quickly develop a sense of belonging and grow in confidence. Staff are nurturing and fun. Children clearly enjoy their company. They include staff in their games where they laugh and amuse each other.

Children behave impeccably, are extremely kind and very sociable. They welcome visitors and are keen to demonstrate their good manners. For example, when staff say, 'thank you', they say 'you're welcome' or give an instinctive hug. Staff are exemplary role models for children. Everybody is treated with kindness and respect. Children get plenty of fresh air and exercise in the well-designed, enticing garden where babies have their own safe place to explore. Children learn to be patient as they share equipment, and accept the rules that keep everyone safe.

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

• The managers and staff plan the curriculum well to help all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make good progress across all areas of learning. Staff make regular observations which help them to know what children can do and what they need to do next. This helps children learn the skills they need to be ready for school when the time comes.
• Staff work well with other professionals involved in children's care. Additional funding is used productively to provide support that is tailored to meet children's individual needs. For example, staff provide a multitude of resources and books to inspire children's developing language and communication skills.
• Staff know the children very well. They recognise the different experiences that children have had during the pandemic and gain valuable information from parents. Staff use this information to identify children's needs and help new children settle quickly. For instance, new families take home their child's designated key person's special sharing box. Inside are photographs and objects of their key person's special people, pets and hobbies. This helps to build strong partnerships with parents.
• Staff put excellent attention on the personal welfare of all children. Babies show they feel safe and secure. Older children are confident and eager to share what they know with staff, other children and visitors. For example, they sing the national anthem with pride and are keen to express their feelings when playing a game with a set of 'emotion' toys. Children's self-esteem is actively nurtured.
• Parents speak extremely highly of the staff and are aware of the good progress their children are making. Staff share children's next steps with parents and give them ideas of how they can support their children's learning at home. Additionally, parents can use the learning library to borrow exciting 'story boxes' and 'story spoons' to help encourage their child's skills in storytelling.
• Staff support children to develop their small- and large-muscle skills. For instance, younger children begin their journey as writers through different opportunities for making marks. Older children attempt to write their names on their drawings. However, although many children are keen to write, some older children do not gain an effective pencil grip to help them build on their developing writing skills. Staff do not have a uniformed approach on how children can achieve this.
• Leadership is strong. The managers are sensitive and respectful in supporting staff's well-being. For example, they value their ideas for improvement and give them a small thank you gift on 'Well-being Wednesdays'. There is a strong focus on professional development with staff continuing to access training. This has a positive impact on the quality of teaching and the continuous improvement of children's learning experiences, in particular for older children. Staff working with younger children occasionally miss chances to extend children's thinking and developing skills to help them make the best possible progress.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• decide on a uniformed approach for staff to help build all children's early writing skills
• continue to improve the high quality of teaching by ensuring staff have a full understanding of younger children's achievements to help plan, extend and challenge them to build on their skills in play and activities.