Fun Time Nursery Limited

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children move through a journey of three rooms in this inviting nursery. They are greeted into their rooms by warm, welcoming staff. Younger children find comfort with their key person, snuggling in for reassurance as they leave their parents. Older children learn to talk about their emotions and staff support them to understand how they are feeling. Children play with their friends as they explore the resources and activities. They display positive attitudes as they play and are confident to lead their own learning. For example, young children decide how they are going to build a train track. Older children find pens for themselves when they want to draw on the dry wipe board.

The management team have worked hard to support their team to make improvements since the last inspection. Staff have developed and improved their practice to ensure that they provide the children with activities that support their learning. They use the interests of the children to formulate a strong curriculum where children learn and have fun. Young children use their senses to explore water with jugs and tea pots, they talk about the smell of tea in the water as they fill cups. Staff play alongside older children as they find treasure in the outdoor sandpit.

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

• Children benefit from a curriculum based on children's next steps in learning. Staff carefully observe children and assess what children need to learn next. They use their knowledge of children's interests to provide children with a wide range of activities that stimulate their attention. Consequently, children make good progress and are well prepared for starting school.
• Children eagerly engage with planned learning experiences. For example, older children explore capacity as they fill and empty bottles and containers with rice. Younger children make their own play dough following visual instructions. However, when challenges arise, staff sometimes step in too quickly with solutions, rather than encouraging children to use their own thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Staff use a range of effective teaching techniques to extend children's mathematical development. For instance, staff take opportunities as they arise in children's play to model mathematical language, count with children and teach them about repeating patterns. For example, staff point out that children have created a repeating pattern of red and blue cubes and ask the children what colour comes next.
• Children develop good communication and language skills. Older children can express their feelings and talk about what is causing the emotion. They use a rich vocabulary to describe their drawings and staff introduce new words.
• However, younger children do not consistently have as many opportunities to express themselves to help develop their early communication and language skills further. Sometimes, staff model language without enabling young children to use the new vocabulary they have heard.
• Staff provide children with various opportunities to develop their independence. Toddlers independently access their drinks and make choices about what they would like to eat. Older toddlers spread butter on their own crackers, and pre-school children choose when they have their snack. Children serve their own lunches and learn to meet their personal care needs. Children are confident in their play, self-help skills and choice-making.
• Staff make sure parents are kept well informed about their children's development and progress. They share ideas with parents about how they can help support their children's learning at home. For example, staff share books with parents so that they can read with their children at home. Parents share they are very happy with the support given to them and their children.
• The management team understand the strengths and areas of the nursery to be developed. There is a strong focus on continually developing staff skills and knowledge. Staff make good use of knowledge they acquire from training. For example, staff have recently attended training to support their understanding of using books to develop children's understanding and love of stories. This knowledge enables staff to plan activities to support children's learning more effectively.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• help staff to improve their understanding of how they can extend older children's learning, so that all children make the best possible progress
• support staff to develop their interactions to help extend younger children's language skills even further.