Gillitots Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are very firmly at the heart of everything that happens at this warm and inclusive nursery. They are warmly welcomed by enthusiastic and dedicated staff. Children eagerly settle to a wide range of opportunities that reflect their unique interests and encompass possibilities to practise new skills, particularly in the well-resourced garden areas. Babies delight in confidently exploring. They learn to balance and take their first steps with confidence. Older children skilfully use real tools, under the close supervision of the provider. They are exceptionally mindful of their own and each other's safety as they hammer and screw to attach cardboard boxes.

Children's laughter and chatter can be heard throughout the nursery as they play together, taking turns and sharing. They understand the high expectations staff have for them. Children are encouraged to join in and explain their thinking. This enables staff to identify what children need to learn next and build coherently on their learning. Children of all ages make good progress.

As a result of periods of isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic, staff recognise that opportunities for children to develop their social and communication skills were more limited. They, therefore, prioritise opportunities that enable children to play closely with each other and share stories to encourage discussion and the introduction of new vocabulary.

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

• There have recently been changes in the staff team. Due, in part, to the pandemic and also periods of maternity leave. The provider has faced significant challenges in recruiting new staff. Both the provider and the manager work within the playrooms in order to bridge the gap in recruitment. This means that all children are supported and continue to enjoy an array of exciting experiences. However, while this has provided some opportunities for coaching alongside staff, the manager has been unable to offer rigorous and highly focused supervision for all staff. Where targets for staff have been set, they do not always focus precisely on what newer staff need to do in order to raise the quality of teaching to the highest level consistently.
• Staff know children very well. They carefully monitor the progress that children make. This helps to ensure that the curriculum reflects children's current next steps so that they may build coherently on previous learning. Furthermore, any emerging gaps in children's development are swiftly identified. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are very well supported. Staff work incredibly closely with a range of outside agencies to ensure that children receive the support they need in order for them to make good progress.
• Staff encourage children of all ages to be independent. All children demonstrate an impressive can-do attitude towards their learning. Babies confidently select the toys they wish to play with. Toddlers understand the need to sanitise their hands after blowing their nose and disposing of their tissue. Pre-school children negotiate with each other and solve simple problems as they arise in their play. For example, they work together to decide upon the best way to extend a balancing beam using crates and planks.
• All children develop a love of stories and songs. They eagerly choose their favourite books and bring them to adults so that they may share in their excitement. Babies enjoy looking at pictures, while toddlers share an interactive, textured book about London. They point out a picture of a carriage and tell the inspector that it belongs to the Queen. They recall seeing it during the Jubilee celebrations. This demonstrates how staff provide opportunities for children to recall their previous experiences and learning.
• Parents speak highly of the care provided by staff and remark that the setting is a home-from-home environment for their child. Overall, parents praise the support and communication from staff. However, some parents have struggled to access recently adopted online methods of communication and feel less well informed about their child's progress. Staff have not been aware of these difficulties. This means that some parents do not always know how to further extend their child's learning at home.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance the existing monitoring and support to staff and focus staff supervision more precisely on raising the quality of teaching to a consistently high level
• build upon the already good partnerships with parents and embed the use of the recently introduced methods to enhance communication even further.