Foxcubs Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff provide a safe and welcoming environment, where children feel settled and happy. They put careful thought into providing resources and activities that engage children and support their learning. For example, they identified that children need more opportunities to take physical risks and have set up a sensory gym for younger children. Children relish attending and develop strong bonds with one another. Staff provide exceptional support for children to recognise and regulate their emotions. Children respond positively and behave extremely well. They are keen to learn and eagerly join in with activities, such as painting birds. They proudly take on the responsibility of doing daily jobs and staff offer them lots of praise and acknowledgement.

Staff have a good understanding of what they want children to learn and work as a team to plan and provide an ambitious curriculum. They adapt this for different age groups and build on children's previous learning and current interests. This helps children develop the skills and attitudes they need for the future. Staff work closely with parents to involve them in their children's learning. For example, they invite them in for play days and encourage them to visit to talk to children about their different cultural backgrounds.

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

• Staff know children well. They use information from parents and their own regular observations to accurately assess children's progress and plan effectively for the next steps in their learning. They also find out about children's interests and take account of these during activities. For example, for children who love playing with babies they set up an area with dolls and equipment, so they can take part in role play. The provision for children with special educational needs and or disabilities is particularly strong and staff work closely with other agencies to ensure they offer tailored support. All children make good progress from their individual starting points.
• The starting point for the curriculum is story making and there is a big focus on children's developing literacy. Babies listen avidly as staff read a familiar story to them and pre-school children take part in an exciting story-telling session. There is also a strong focus on communication and language. Staff introduce new vocabulary. Each room has a 'word jar' display with words for the children to learn and staff use 'vocabulary flowers' to introduce new words linked to specific activities. Staff use signing to support children's communication, although this is not always consistent.
• Staff are skilled at supporting children who speak English as an additional language. They work closely with parents to find out about their home language. They routinely use this to fully support the child's language development and help them to feel valued. Parents greatly appreciate this acknowledgement of their diverse backgrounds.
• Children are very eager to learn and relish joining in. For example, older children decide to fetch water and experiment with pouring it out and then exploring what the mud feels like underfoot. They persevere at cutting fresh fruit and vegetables, which enables them to practise their fine motor skills. Children form strong friendships with one another. Even babies share resources and respect each other's space. Children of all ages learn to recognise different emotions and to regulate these as they progress through the nursery. This forms an integral part of the curriculum.
• There is a strong focus on staff development and well-being. Leaders organised a staff appreciation day and there is a 'garden of praise' display, where managers display positive comments from parents about individual staff members. These are resoundingly positive. Staff have varied opportunities to develop their skills and more experienced staff model effective teaching. However, there are inconsistencies in staff's interactions with children and some do not extend their learning as much as possible. For example, some do not make the most of opportunities to introduce mathematics during activities.
• Staff have a comprehensive knowledge of safeguarding. They understand the possible signs that a child may be at risk of harm and know what to do if they have concerns. They also know how to escalate these concerns outside the nursery, if necessary. Managers keep safeguarding high on the agenda.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance teaching practice to provide more consistent interactions with children and extend their learning as much as possible.