First Steps Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happy and keen to learn at this warm and welcoming setting. They forge strong relationships with staff and each other. Children show kindness and consideration towards others. They cooperate and readily invite peers to join in their play. Children are encouraged well to explore freely. They choose from a range of available resources and make up interesting games. For example, they fill the toy ice-cream cones with wet sand and consider whether to have a single or double scoop. This stimulates children's curiosity and imagination.

Children behave well and show good manners. They say 'good morning' to visitors and greet them with a smile. Staff generously praise children's efforts and achievements, which helps them grow in confidence and self-esteem. Children follow this good model and praise others for their efforts. For example, older children comment on how wonderful their friend's drawings are and say it is 'so cool'.

Children develop a strong interest in books from the outset. Older children often sit completely absorbed in a book of their own choice. When sharing books in groups, they join in with familiar repetitive phrases. Younger children approach staff to share their favourites and keenly point at pictures. Children love singing and enjoy a good repertoire of songs. This helps to create a wider vocabulary for children to use and apply.

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

• Leaders have a clear vision of what needs to be done to make their provision even better. They have a secure understanding of the curriculum and work with staff to plan and implement a sequenced and ambitious programme. Children make good progress from their starting points and show they are ready for their next stage in education.
• Leaders and staff work closely with external professionals and parents to ensure that children with emerging or identified special educational needs and/or disabilities receive timely and consistent support. This approach is highly effective and helps children make the progress they are capable of.
• Staff know children well. They work closely with parents to gather information about what their child knows and can do when they start. These details are used to plan tailored activities to support children's progress. However, sometimes, the activities planned are over-ambitious and involve several ideas when implemented. For instance, during an activity about vehicles, children are keen to explore the tyre rollers and do not pay attention to the many suggestions made by staff. This does not provide an opportunity for in-depth understanding.
• Children enjoy the daily opportunities to explore and experiment, indoors and outdoors. However, staff have not fully considered how to offer a wide variety of experiences to encourage children to use all their senses and make their learning more meaningful. For example, there is a narrow range of materials available when children engage in picnic role play. This means that children's learning experiences are not broadened as fully as possible, to help them develop a deeper understanding of the world around them.
• Staff support children's language and communication well. Young babies babble happily as they engage with staff and begin to mimic simple words. Toddlers say new words and short phrases, as staff skilfully model language. Older children engage in purposeful two-way conversations. For example, they talk about apples being healthy and move onto colours of apples. They convince others that there are not only green and red apples, but purple ones too, as they have seen them. This helps children to become confident speakers.
• Children are encouraged to be independent and manage their own care needs. For example, younger children practise feeding themselves. Older children use a knife and fork with good control. They help with small tasks, such as washing their own plates after meals. This supports children's sense of responsibility.
• Parents speak highly of the education and care their children receive at the setting. Staff form trusted bonds with parents, which helps to support children's continuity of care and development. Parents value the online communication and verbal feedback, which includes activities the children have undertaken and what they have learned.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to plan activities with a clear outcome for learning and ensure that children are fully engaged and focused to achieve further success
• enhance opportunities for children to use their full range of senses to explore and broaden their experiences, to help further develop their understanding of the world.