Giggle and Grow Oldham

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and confident. They settle quickly and are greeted warmly by staff who are excited to listen to what they have been doing at home. Children who are new to the nursery settle quickly with caring staff who reassure them with cuddles. Staff have created a nurturing environment where children feel safe and secure.

Children's behaviour is exemplary. Staff create clear and consistent routines. This provides children with clear expectations. Staff use visual cues throughout the nursery to develop children's understanding of now and next. This results in smooth transitions for all children throughout the routine. Children demonstrate a passion to learn and are eager to join in all experiences. Staff ooze with enthusiasm, which leads to children forming positive attitudes towards learning. Staff create an environment which encourages children to explore and learn freely. Older children test out their own ideas. They explore, with a fire engine, how they could put out a fire, developing their understanding of safety. Babies use their senses to confidently explore colourful rice. They drop the rice, listening to the sound it makes and babble in response to staff. Babies are learning the skills they need to be good communicators.

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

• Children make good progress. Staff are clear on what they want children to achieve. They plan precise next steps for children. This results in children progressing well in their overall development.
• The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) works closely with outside agencies to make sure children get sufficient support. The SENCo regularly monitors the progress of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. This is to ensure their targets are achievable but also challenging enough to support closing gaps in their development.
• Overall, interactions with children are of a high quality. Staff use simple language with babies. They ask thought-provoking questions to pre-school children to help to develop their understanding. Most staff allow children time to think and answer questions. However, on occasion, some staff ask too many questions in quick succession and do not give children enough time to think and respond. This means that children are not consistently provided with opportunities to demonstrate what they know and can do.
• Children's behaviour is exceptional. They show outstanding attitudes to learning and excitedly engage in experiences. Staff create a clear and respectful environment for children. Children understand what is expected of them and display impressive concentration. They engage in group experiences for long periods. Children are developing the skills they need in readiness for school.
• Leaders create a safe environment. They risk assess the premises effectively to minimise risk of harm to children. Staff teach children about keeping themselves safe by talking about events such as bonfire night. Leaders recognise the importance of online safety. They share information with parents about keeping children safe online. However, leaders have not fully considered how to develop children's understanding of the potential risks online.
• The manager understands the importance of children learning about the world around them. Professionals such as the police and dentists visit the nursery. This teaches children about different occupations and how to look after themselves. Staff also plan other exciting experiences, such as decorating the local Christmas tree. This provides children with opportunities to experience new things and learn about the world around them.
• Leaders reflect continuously. They review policies and procedures regularly to make sure that they are effective. For example, they identified that some staff needed further training in a particular area of practice. They swiftly took action to change their induction training to include this. This continuous reflection results in high-quality care and education for children.
• Parent partnership is strong. Leaders provide information to parents about the learning intents of the curriculum. Parents express that this gives them an understanding of their children's development and ideas for activities at home. This supports parents effectively to contribute to their child's learning at home.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• further develop staff's understanding of how to support children's communication and language development so that all interactions are of a consistently high quality
• explore ways to broaden children's understanding of how to keep themselves safe online in an age-appropriate way.