Growing Beans Tooting Nursery and Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are busy and enjoy exploring a range of activities, particularly messy play. Older children enjoy making dough. They use their muscles to roll it out, while younger children explore colour mixing with paints and rollers in the outdoor area. Babies settle in well and make good relationships with their key person quickly. They enjoy sharing books together and staff point to the pictures that interest them.

The curriculum has a focus on outdoor play and learning. The children enjoy physical play in the nursery garden and go for regular walks around the local area. Staff teach children about things found in the natural world, such as insects and plants. Monthly themes extend children's interests and give them skills and knowledge that they will need in life. For example, children are currently learning the language of mathematics. They are learning to count and recognise shapes and numbers.

The manager and staff have high ambitions for all children and plan activities that help them to make progress. Parents enjoy receiving daily messages about what their children are learning and what they can do at home.

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

• Partnerships with parents are strong. Each family have their own online messaging group to share important information. Staff send daily updates and photos to share the nursery day with parents and provide information on what children are learning. Each week, there are suggested activities for parents to do that will continue children's learning and development at home.
• Staff are good role models to the children. They join in with their play and help them learn to share resources. Children learn to be kind to each other and to say 'please' and 'thank you'. Staff teach children to manage their behaviour by reminding them to not throw toys or sand, and to use gentle hands with their friends.
• The manager has clearly thought about practice and worked with the staff team to make positive improvements since the last inspection. The manager focuses on the effective professional development of staff and spends time with the staff and children throughout the day to provide support and guidance when needed. She knows the children well and gets regular updates on their progress from each key person. However, on occasion, the manager's arrangements do not fully assure that all staff are always up to date with the care information needed to fully meet the needs of children.
• Staff and children chat together throughout the day. Children are confident to ask and answer questions and use a wide range of vocabulary. Non-verbal children are able to express their ideas and needs by pointing and using gestures. All children have a good level of communication and language development.
• Staff plan activities that provide appropriate amounts of challenge, depending on their current knowledge and ability. For example, pre-school children use letter stamps. Younger children enjoy exploring the marks they make, while older children use them to spell out their name.
• Children enjoy healthy meals and snacks that are prepared on site. Children learn to serve and feed themselves. They enjoy talking about what foods they like and dislike. Mealtimes are sociable and generally relaxed. However, the routines just before and after meals can be disorganised at times. This means that some children become unsettled, frustrated and in need of reassurance.
• Staff encourage children to brush their teeth after lunch. Staff help children to find their brushes and apply a small amount of toothpaste. Babies are handed their toothbrushes and staff demonstrate how to brush their teeth. Older children talk about the minty taste of the toothpaste. Staff talk to children about making sure that their teeth are 'nice and clean' and that it is important to brush the 'dirt away'. This teaches children the importance of brushing their teeth and introduces good habits for oral hygiene.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• build on arrangements to provide staff with more up-to-date information about details of children's care practices, to ensure that staff are able to respond quickly and meet all the children's needs
• review routines to ensure that children's emotional needs are met.