Footsteps Daycare 2018 Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

All children attending this nursery clearly show they feel happy and safe. Children are warmly welcomed by staff when they arrive, and children's feelings of well-being and belonging are fostered very well by staff. Babies look intently at staff and giggle with delight as staff talk and sing to them. Toddlers thoroughly enjoy stories read by staff. They are confident to speak to visitors and proudly show how they use a spade to fill containers with sand. Pre-school children learn about nature as they enthusiastically prepare growing containers, and plant seeds. They work very well together, negotiating with each other, sharing and confidently talk about the spinach and carrots they will grow for the tortoises to eat.

Children benefit significantly from the effective curriculum the staff plan. The activities take account of what children are interested in and provide achievable challenges. For example, children in the Infant Room show an interest in road works they can see through the window. Staff offer activities where children can pretend to do their own construction work. They add books, high-visibility jackets and writing materials, to also promote children's literacy and independence skills as they play. Children rise to the high expectations staff have for them as they are curious and motivated to explore, try new experiences and join in.

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

• The manager and deputy work very well together. They effectively support the staff team with their well-being and their ongoing professional development. Staff have regular supervision meetings, where they discuss and reflect on their own practice and the deputy checks on their feelings of well-being and job satisfaction. Recent training for staff, relating to teaching, has a positive impact on children's learning. Staff are now more mindful to extend children's vocabulary through using more descriptive words when they speak to them during play.
• Children take part in a range of experiences that they may not have at home, to widen their knowledge. They learn about nature when they visit a local pond to see and feed the ducks and show interest in checking duck eggs at nursery that are due to hatch any day.
• A significant strength at this nursery is how effectively staff promote children's developing independence skills. Children are encouraged to make choices about the toys they play with. They follow their own creative ideas for art and craft as they make paper aeroplanes. Pre-school children enjoy being the daily 'helper'. They take on this responsibility well, helping their friends to do the zip up on their coat. Staff support children and give lots of praise to help them develop confidence in how to manage themselves in the toilet, how to put on dressing-up clothes and how to find a tissue to wipe their own nose.
• Children learn about respect through discussion and good role modelling from staff. Children listen when staff explain what is coming next. This helps children, particularly those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language, to become familiar with the daily routine. However, occasionally, staff caring for children in the Infant Room use overly lengthy explanations, and language that is too complicated for the children's level of understanding. This does not consistently ensure that children understand what is expected of them.
• Staff are highly effective in their teaching. They successfully engage children in their activities and show a real interest in what children are doing. Staff accurately know where children are in their learning, and they help children to think about what they want to do next. For example, when children use connecting straws and say they are 'making a drone', staff talk to them about this and suggest they make a 'remote control' so they 'can control the drone when it is high up'.
• Staff provide a consistent approach to help children learn about the expectations for appropriate behaviour. This results in children showing positive behaviour. Children listen to the staff when they help children to resolve minor disagreements that arise. However, occasionally, some staff do not notice when more confident children dominate activities or take toys away from their quieter and less confident friends, which impacts on these children's play.
• Parents report that they are very happy with the nursery. They comment that staff are exceptionally supportive of their children and that they 'go the extra mile' to help families through times of ill health or difficulty. Parents are confident that their children's individual needs are managed well and say the staff make sure their children are well prepared for the move on to school.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• focus more precisely on how staff give instructions to ensure they are clear, and children can understand what they are expected to do
• help all staff to be aware of children who are quieter and less confident to make sure they consistently receive the same levels of positive interaction as their more confident friends.