Flutterbys Children's Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happily at this home-from-home nursery. They are warmly welcomed in by the caring staff team, who quickly put children at ease. Staff encourage children to engage in their chosen play. Children have access to a wide range of stimulating and interesting activities. Staff engage appropriately with children to help them explore and develop their knowledge further. This is particularly true of older children. There is a strong focus for children to learn outside and to be independent from an early age. Children are active learners and excitedly explore and use the different areas outside throughout the day.

Children make potions and pretend perfume with water, dried flowers and herbs picked from the nursery garden. They use their physical skills well to mix and pummel the ingredients together. Children proudly show off their end products to staff and visitors. They tell the visitors what it smells like, such as mint and flowers. Staff help children to have a clear understanding of what is expected of them. Children's behaviour is very good as staff have high expectations of them. Children eagerly share toys and take turns with one another during their play and daily routines. They quickly learn about their own safety and take calculated risks. Older children say, 'We can't go outside, there is no adult.' Very young children manoeuvre themselves carefully over balancing planks and wooden frames.

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

• Children, from a young age, show good independence skills. Babies happily sit at the table and have a go at feeding themselves. They eagerly attempt to use spoons and forks. Older children confidently use knives and forks and serve themselves with fresh vegetables at the dinner table. Once they have finished eating, they scrape any remaining food from their plates into the waste bin and place their plate and cutlery in the designated storage.
• All children enjoy their play and have fun at the nursery. Older children have secure relationships with staff and their peers. Younger children seek out familiar adults for reassurance. They happily give and receive cuddles. Older children are very familiar with nursery routines and independently carry these out successfully. They line up to wash their hands before choosing to have their snack, and tidy away the toys once they have finished playing with them.
• Overall, the manager has a good overview to ensure that children are provided with an ambitious curriculum. In the main all children, from a young age to those getting ready for school, spend time together. Staff provide a well-balanced and thoughtful range of activities and experiences for them. That said, some staff do not use resources to enhance the learning experiences of, and interaction with, babies. This means that sometimes babies miss out on key learning experiences that are more suitable for their age and stage of development, when compared to their older peers' experiences.
• Parents spoken to on the day of inspection are extremely positive about the service they and their children receive from this setting. They comment about how well information is shared between themselves and the staff, and how much their children enjoy attending the setting. Parents' written comments state how well their children are cared for and how much their children are progressing in their development.
• Some older children are very articulate and use a wide range of complex words and sentences to describe what they are doing. They confidently ask questions and demonstrate some good listening and attention skills during story time and when playing lotto games. However, babies' communication and language development is not as well supported by some staff as it is for the older children. Some staff do not engage in conversation and talk with babies as they play.
• The manager is a good role model for staff. She understands and values the importance of mentoring and coaching staff to improve the outcomes for children. Staff comment how supportive the manager is and how well their workload and well-being are managed.
• Children who have been identified as requiring additional help are supported very well. Staff understand the importance of working with parents and outside agencies to ensure children's needs are met effectively. Consequently, these children are making good progress in their development and enjoy attending the nursery.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop staff skills to help them to use resources and engage more with babies so they receive the same level of interaction and experiences as the older children
• help staff to consistently support babies' communication and language development.