Gingerbread Mews

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and settled in the nursery. When visitors arrive, they run up to them and give them a hug. Throughout the day, older children show confidence and curiosity about visitors and engage them in conversations. Very young babies receive undivided attention. The staff in the baby room are kind and caring and, in return, the babies are contented and explore independently. Pre-school children have good imaginations. They use real fruit and vegetables to make imaginary meals for their dinosaurs. They make eating sounds as they pretend the dinosaurs are eating, such as 'nom, nom'. Children use their senses to explore the different materials and textures placed in the dinosaur 'scape'. They especially like the chocolate smelling swamp.

Children thrive as staff encourage their persistence and resilience. For example, when children say they cannot walk across the tyres unaided, staff say 'Yes, you can' and suggest a friend to take their hand and help them. As children follow their advice, and make progress, they grow in confidence and say 'I don't need your hand now' before getting to the end and proudly commenting 'I did it'. Pre-school children and toddlers are very kind to one another and play harmoniously together. When stirring ingredients to make play dough the children hold the bowl steady for each other.

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

• The small staff team and manager work very well together. Staff comment they enjoy working in the nursery and feel well supported. They say the manager is very approachable. Staff receive regular support and attend development meetings to set targets for their future professional development. However, there is scope to focus these more sharply on raising staff practice to an even higher level.
• Babies thoroughly enjoy a songs and rhymes session. They join in with actions, pointing to their feet and making stars with their hands. This helps to promote babies' understanding and promotes early language development.
• Staff have a clear curriculum focus that begins with topics and builds on children's interests. Staff in each group room know what they want children to learn before they move on to a new room in the nursery, or move on to school. For instance, babies learn simple words and develop confidence to leave their main carers. Pre-school children are learning to follow daily routines and become independent in managing their own self-care needs.
• Staff provide an inclusive environment. They support children to recognise their uniqueness and develop a positive attitude to people's differences. Photos displayed in group rooms represent and celebrate the different families who attend the nursery. Babies start to recognise their own family members and point at their photos. This helps children to know they are valued.
• Staff give children tasks to do, helping them to feel a sense of responsibility. At lunchtime, children hand out plates and cutlery to their friends. Children demonstrate their good manners and respond with a thank you.
• Parents are positive about the nursery and the staff. They comment that their children have made good progress in their communication and language. Parents appreciate the updates they receive about their children's activities and achievements. However, staff do not share information to further encourage parents to continue to support their children's learning at home.
• Staff promote good hygiene practices, and help children to learn how to keep themselves healthy. They remind children to drink water on warm days, and comment 'You don't want to dehydrate.' Staff encourage children to wash their hands, particularly after sneezing.
• Staff support children who speak English as an additional language well. They learn key words in children's home language and use these alongside English. For example, staff ask if children want some leche and then follow this up with the English word, milk. As a result, these children make good progress in their speaking skills.
• Staff are mindful to offer a range of different experiences, such as messy play and the opportunity to be physical and play in a large, well-resourced garden. This contributes to children broadening their horizons and developing skills for their future learning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen development plans to focus on raising staff's teaching to a consistently high level
• provide parents with further ideas and suggestions to extend their child's individual learning at home.