First Steps Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children show positive relationships with staff. For example, in the baby room, children sit with staff for comfort when they are tired or to listen to a story. Children in the toddler room learn new skills that help them to develop the muscles in their hands in preparation for early writing. For instance, they are excited to copy staff when they show them how to use the palm of their hand to press down on play dough. In the pre-school room, staff help children to recognise the name of shapes they play with, such as a hexagon. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported well. Staff work closely with other professionals to meet their individual needs. The manager spends additional funding that some children receive to enable them to follow their interests and support their learning.

Staff encourage children to use their voices to ask for what they want from their peers. For example, when children want a pen that is near to another child, staff encourage them to ask for it themselves. Children receive gentle reminders from staff to use good manners when they are given something by their peers, encouraging them to be polite. Children are supported by staff to understand how they can keep themselves safe. For example, children learn that they must not eat berries they pick outdoors and tell staff, 'My stomach might hurt.'

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

• Staff offer children a nutritious range of snacks, helping to promote a healthy diet. They ask children to choose which food they would like to eat, such as from a selection of toast, banana and pear. This shows children that their opinions matter, helping to create an environment of care and respect.
• The manager supports her staff through, for example, supervision meetings. This enables staff to reflect on their practice and identify professional development opportunities. Some staff have recently moved rooms, therefore, they are caring for a different age of children. Because of this, staff complete training to help to extend their knowledge of how to support the development and learning of the ages of children they work with.
• In the baby room, staff hold onto children's hands to support their balance when they begin to take their first steps. However, staff in this room do not fully build on the more mobile children's large physical skills indoors. This limits opportunities for children to follow their interests and develop this aspect of their learning.
• Staff implement rules and boundaries, helping children to understand what is expected of them. This includes asking children in the toddler room to tidy-up toys to encourage them to take care of the environment.
• The manager and staff implement a curriculum that helps children to be ready for their next stage of learning. For example, they support children to develop their communication and language skills. In the toddler room, staff introduce new words for children to learn, such as 'bumpy', that help to extend their vocabulary. Staff in the pre-school room ask children a good range of questions and give them time to reply. This helps to develop their thinking skills.
• When children move rooms within the nursery, parents are given a welcome pack that gives them information about the staff who will be caring for their children. Children are supported emotionally by staff when they move rooms. For example, staff take them for visits to become familiar with the new environment and staff. Children have opportunities to play with resources that reflect the next room. For example, in the toddler room, children have access to polo shirts that children wear in the pre-school room.
• Staff give parents written reports that show them their children's progress. In the toddler and pre-school room, staff share information with parents about how they can continue to support their children's learning at home. For example, parents are asked to collect natural items that reflect autumn with their children. However, this partnership working is not as effective in the baby room. Staff are not consistent in the level of support they offer parents to help them continue their children's learning at home.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to help more mobile children in the baby room to build on their large physical skills indoors
• strengthen staff's partnership with parents of children in the baby room, offering all parents ideas and suggestions about how they can continue to support their children's learning at home.