Greetwell Hollow Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children hold discussions with staff, who ask them questions to encourage their thinking skills. For example, in the toddler room, when staff ask children how they travelled to their holiday, children reply, 'aeroplane'. Children have opportunities to learn about life cycles. Staff arrange for children in the pre-school room to observe eggs hatching into chicks and to see caterpillars transform into butterflies. Children say that the chicks started as an egg and they grew by eating. Children learn how to make healthy foods using produce they grow in the garden. For instance, they pick apples from a tree and staff help them to make apple pies.

Children have opportunities to develop their physical skills. In the baby room, staff give children encouragement to walk unaided. Children smile and show a sense of achievement when they manage a few steps on their own. In the toddler room, children show good balance and coordination when they walk across wooden beams in the garden. Staff stay close to the children to support them and ensure their safety. In the pre-school room, children show control and balance when they play games. Staff ask them to balance a small hoop on their head and to walk in and out of cones on the ground. Children show good listening skills and follow the instructions that staff give them when playing games, showing positive behaviour.

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

• The management team liaises with children's key persons and parents to help identify how to spend additional funding that some children receive. This includes purchasing resources that staff use to help children to understand their feelings and emotions. The money is spent effectively to help close gaps in children's learning.
• The manager completes training courses to build on his knowledge of how to support children's communication and language skills. He shares his knowledge with new staff as part of their induction when they are employed. This helps to provide consistency in staff's interactions with children. For example, in the baby room, staff sing nursery rhymes with children during daily routines, such as when changing their nappies and when helping children to wash their hands. These positive interactions contribute to supporting children's early speaking skills.
• Children show they have positive relationships with staff. For example, they go to them when they need a cuddle or comfort. However, not all children who speak English as an additional language are supported by staff to develop a sense of belonging in the nursery. For example, staff do not provide opportunities for all children to hear their home language or see photos of people familiar to them.
• The management team asks school teachers about what skills they want children to learn prior to starting school. From the information managers receive, they plan physical exercise sessions where children are invited to bring clothes from home to change into. This contributes to promoting children's independence with dressing and undressing, in preparation for their move on to school.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported well by staff. Individual targets are identified in partnership with parents to help staff support children's individual needs.
• Staff have a good knowledge of their key children's learning and development needs. However, this information is not always shared fully across all staff who work with the children. This results in some staff not recognising how best to help some children with their learning. Therefore, sometimes, children's learning is not fully supported.
• Staff encourage children to show positive behaviour. For example, in the toddler room, they give some children gentle reminders to say 'please' when they ask for food. Staff praise other children for saying 'please', encouraging good manners.
• Staff share information with parents about their children's care and learning. This helps to keep parents informed about their children's day. Parents say that their children love attending the nursery, make friends and are cared for by friendly staff.
• Staff help children to develop a sense of responsibility. For example, they ask pre-school children to complete tasks, including asking a child to be a helper of the week and to collect their peers' place mats at lunchtime.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• help staff to enable all children who speak English as an additional language to have a sense of belonging
• strengthen the sharing of information between staff so that children's learning and development are further supported during their play.