Giggles Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are excited to take part in a wealth of interesting activities. They are highly motivated, eager to join in and learn. Staff design rich and inviting calm areas, such as the sensory room. Young children benefit from environments which support the development of their vision though bold patterns. These allow children to focus their attention and levels of concentration. Managers share their ethos and curriculum planning with staff to ensure staff practice is consistent and of a high quality. Their dedication to the setting is evidenced by the superb rates of confidence which children develop. Children take part in activities that challenge and extend their learning. For example, children work together to create car ramps. They show high levels of concentration as they problem solve. Children learn how to raise ramps and predict which car will win the race.

Children's behaviour is exemplary. Children treat each other with high levels of respect and show trusting friendships. They congratulate each other on their achievements, spontaneously clapping and giving each other 'high fives'. Partnership working with parents is a key strength of this setting. Parents speak highly of the dedicated staff team. Despite the restrictions presented by the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, parents are continually involved in all aspects of their children's learning. The key persons' excellent knowledge of children's home experiences and language significantly enhances children's understanding and use of English. Many of the staff are multilingual and support children's home language, as well as English, exceptionally well.

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

• Staff are motivated. They have high expectations and ambition for all children. Teaching is finely tuned, with each child's needs known and understood by their key person. This results in individualised teaching that encourages every child to meet their full potential. Staff work seamlessly with a range of other professionals. Children benefit from the support of speech and language therapists, as well as the hearing and visual support team, to meet their diverse needs. Gaps in children's learning close rapidly, including for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. This helps to prepare children to be ready for school.
• Children demonstrate high levels of perseverance and work collaboratively on chosen tasks. They communicate with one another as they play. For example, they talk about how balls can get down guttering tubes. Children work in a team to hold the tubes and balance them on stands. Staff provide high levels of encouragement. They extend children's knowledge of early mathematical concepts throughout their play. Children are highly motivated to succeed and have the time to make mistakes and learn from these. Children learn how to do things on their own. They gain the skills to be highly resilient and make decisions for themselves.
• Staff support children to find ways to acknowledge and recognise their strong feelings, such as looking at photographs and pictures that show children's different emotions. As children become more able to express themselves, they learn to share how they are feeling. Older children who are leaving for school talk confidently about how 'excited and happy' they are as they create graduation bags filled with memories of their time at nursery.
• Staff promote healthy living superbly. Children engage in weekly outdoor sports, such as 'Rugby Tots', and learn about healthy foods during lunch times. They tell staff that pasta is a carbohydrate, and it gives them energy. They regularly drink water and encourage friends, who have not yet drunk enough, to drink more.
• The management team actively support staff well-being. For example, they meet staff at frequent intervals to discuss their practice and how they are feeling. Targets set for staff are highly focused on continually improving outcomes for children. Managers encourage staff to follow their interests and passions.
• Parents comment that staff are really interested in what children are doing at home. Parents are impressed at how staff plan for these interests in nursery. Parents are grateful for suggestions and strategies staff give them to support learning with their children at home. Additional funding is used impressively to enhance and enrich children's experiences. For instance, outside children have access to the new allotment area. They harvest their produce, such as root vegetables and soft fruits. Staff work collaboratively with professionals and parents to focus on children's specific needs.