Good Time Childcare At Redesdale

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thoroughly enjoy coming to nursery. This is evident when they separate happily from their parents or carers. They come into the building smiling, ready for the day ahead. Very young children in the baby room explore their environment with interest. They show this when they place pine cones into small pans and shake them up and down. Older children are highly motivated and challenge themselves physically outdoors. They competently climb up the slope on the climbing structure and safely come down the slide. Children behave well throughout the nursery. Staff help them to manage their own behaviour. For instance, pre-school children place their photographs on a coloured 'rainbow'. They move them up and down the colours which helps them to regulate how they act and behave.

Staff plan a wide range of activities that support children's learning well, overall. They promote skills, such as early writing, throughout the nursery. Younger children enjoy making marks using chalks in the outdoor area while older children learn to write letters in their name. Children develop a good range of skills and knowledge that prepares them well for the next stage of their education.

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

• Staff have appropriate knowledge of how children develop and learn. They use their assessments well, overall, to plan stimulating and challenging experiences for children that promote good progress. Occasionally, some activities planned for children over the age of two years do not always target the skills they need to learn next, to promote their learning to the highest level. This is particularly evident when staff plan experiences focused around particular themes or topics.
• Staff provide high levels of support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The views of other professionals also involved with children are incorporated into targeted learning and support plans. This shared approach helps to move children's learning forward and they make good progress.
• Partnerships with parents and carers are strong. Those spoken to during the inspection speak highly of the quality of information shared with them about their children. Staff make very good use of systems to record and celebrate children's achievements. Parents and carers say they value this information. They enjoy adding their own observations to show what children have been learning at home.
• Leaders have adapted daily routines, in view of COVID-19 (coronavirus), to ensure the good health of children. Drop-off and collection arrangements have been altered so that parents and carers no longer come into the nursery. There are plans to continue this procedure as children are more settled in nursery when they arrive.
• Staff promote older children's mathematics skills well. They make good use of activities to help children to use mathematical language and count objects. Children begin to develop an understanding of words, such as, 'more' and 'same'. Children cut their play dough using scissors and count how many pieces they have.
• Leaders make good use of additional funding to support children's development. Assessments help to identify where children require additional help. Funding is used effectively to target their individual needs and supports their learning well.
• Staff place high priority on helping children to develop the key skills and knowledge they require for their future lives. Children enjoy routine activities, such as sitting at the table and respond well to instructions from staff during mealtimes. Due to Covid-19, children now bring a packed meal to eat at lunchtime. Leaders say this is proving very popular and is likely to remain in place following the pandemic.
• Staff engage effectively with teachers in the host school. Information sharing is good and supports continuity in children's learning. Children come into nursery excited and ready to continue their learning after their morning in school. They quickly join in with activities planned for them, which complements the skills they learn in school.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to focus even more rigorously on what they want children to learn next so that each child makes maximum progress in their learning.