Flore Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are welcomed warmly by cheery staff. They separate from their parents at the main door. Children develop a sense of belonging and have secure attachments to their key person. Babies are handled with great care as they are carried to the baby room. Two-year-olds ably make their way to their play space and three- and four-year-olds eagerly rush to greet their friends and staff. Children who are just starting at the setting, or those moving between rooms, are settled by caring, friendly staff.

All children enjoy being active and enjoy a range of opportunities which allow them to practise moving themselves and their toys around. For example, babies roll balls and play with trolleys and trucks outside and four-year-olds enjoy building their own obstacle course in the garden.

Children have a positive attitude towards learning and enjoy exploring and experimenting. They work together to solve problems, for example, they help each other to balance and navigate the obstacle course. Babies enjoy using chalk on a low table. They are learning to recognise colours and to share with each other. Children develop positive relationships with one another and because their emotional well-being is supported, they feel safe and secure.

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

• An effective key-person system is in place. Staff plan based on children's interests and their experiences from home. Staff provide a personalised settling-in procedure for children. For example, older siblings visit the baby room when their younger brothers and sisters come for a settling-in session.
• The manager spends time in each room and is attentive to the development needs of the nursery. She has a clear vision for the nursery's future. She observes staff interactions with children and uses her findings to enhance staff development. She provides staff with purposeful feedback, encouraging them to become reflective practitioners.
• Staff say this is a very good place to work. They feel that the manager values them and has a high regard for their well-being. Staff have regular one-to-one meetings with the manager which help them to create plans for their individual professional development.
• Staff devise a curriculum which focuses on developing children's curiosity. Staff consider what children already know and develop a range of activities and experiences to extend children's knowledge and skills. For example, children explore what paint feels like when they squeeze it through their fingers and spread it up their arms. They make handprints on paper taped to the floor and compare with each other to see who has the smallest and biggest hands.
• Children of all ages enjoy being outside. Babies practise walking and climbing and they enjoy pushing wheeled toys up and down a small ramp. Two-year-olds explore a steeper slope in the garden. They enjoy walking and running up and down the slope and they hold hands and wait for their friends. They find a place to dig and explore the texture of soil and use words such as 'soft', 'hard', 'dry' and 'wet'. Staff talk to children about how the texture of soil changes when the sun shines or when it rains.
• Children are generally encouraged to be independent. Older children wash their own hands and manage their own toileting. At lunchtime, children collect their own cutlery, plates and cups, pour their own drinks and serve their own food. Babies are supported to feed themselves. However, sometimes, staff do things for children that they are capable of doing for themselves. For instance, staff wash children's hands and faces after lunch and wipe their noses.
• Staff generally encourage children to work things out for themselves. For example, children roll balls in paint and notice that the paint changes the way the balls move. They decide that the paint makes the ball 'sticky and heavy'. Staff discuss this with them and encourage them to experiment by adding different objects to the paint. However, children playing on their own are not always acknowledged by staff. This means that they are not always supported by staff to extend their thinking. For example, children engrossed in measuring and making potions work precisely to use a pipette and when they are ready to share their work with staff, they struggle to gain their attention.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• extend children's independence skills, particularly when they are capable of carrying out tasks themselves
• help staff to build on their skills to make sure that all children are consistently challenged in their learning.