Hami's Daycare

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children, parents and carers receive a warm welcome at the nursery. Staff help children to gain confidence and independence as they grow. This is demonstrated well at mealtimes. Babies explore the taste and texture of food as they begin to feed themselves from an early age. By the time children are ready to start school, they ably serve food onto their plates at lunchtime. Staff vary the routines so that children learn to eat with both cutlery and their fingers. Children sometimes sit on the floor to eat and sometimes on chairs. This helps children to respect and learn about differences between families and cultures.

Staff are encouraged to implement consistent routines across all aspects of the nursery day. This promotes effective staff deployment that keeps children safe. Furthermore, it helps children to feel secure, and this promotes their learning. Babies are eager to gather together during an activity of 'What is in the box?' They know that the activity will be rewarding and exciting. Staff's communication with parents is open and positive. There is a clear connection between parents' feedback and the actions taken to improve the provision. Staff use the nursery's online app to post videos of themselves performing new songs that children are learning. This enables parents to learn the songs and to sing them with their children at home.

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

• The nursery's curriculum is ambitious and well sequenced. Managers communicate the intentions for the curriculum effectively to staff. Staff consistently implement the plans to teach children to gain independence. They teach toddlers how to put on and fasten their coats. Children learn to wash their hands and wipe their own noses. They therefore acquire skills and habits that promote their good health.
• Managers support staff to continuously improve their professional skills and knowledge. Staff have been trained to lead small groups in a programme of activities designed to excite children's interest and that help them to pay attention to what other people say and do. This regular input promotes children's capacity to benefit from education now and in the future.
• Staff plan meaningful activities that promote children's vocabulary and knowledge. Pre-school children learn interesting words, such as 'carbohydrates' and 'dairy', to describe food groups. This helps them to learn about eating a balanced diet. Staff use an engaging monkey puppet to help toddlers to understand and follow golden rules for their conduct. Children, therefore, learn the meaning of words, such as 'kind' and 'helpful', in a purposeful context.
• Staff help children to apply their knowledge of numbers in practical ways. Pre-school children have great fun pretending to roll one by one out of bed as they sing along to a favourite number song. They count down until there are zero children left, then repeat the game. Children learn to use their fingers to count and calculate. This helps them to understand quantity and number order.
• The provision for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is of a high standard. Staff consult closely with parents to ensure that everyone uses consistent phrases to communicate with children whose language development is delayed. They notice and build on small steps in children's progress. Staff show professional pride in helping children to achieve their targets. All children, including those with SEND, make good progress.
• Staff plan varied adult-led activities. They are knowledgeable about how the activities may promote children's learning across the seven areas of learning. However, staff do not define clearly enough what they intend children to know or be able to do as a result of taking part. This does not promote the really precise assessment of children's achievements that aids their swiftest progress.
• Children's physical development and well-being are promoted well. Staff encourage children to take regular drinks and tell them why this is important. Children learn about oral health and know that they should clean their teeth twice a day. The nursery's daily programme includes periods of lively physical activity and times when children are quiet and thoughtful. This promotes children's physical and mental health.
• Staff follow clear policies and procedures that promote children's welfare. They keep records of accidents and injuries to children and share them with parents via the online app. Staff conduct risk assessments and take action to minimise hazards to children's safety. They moved the release button on the external door so that it is too high for children to reach. This has lessened the risk of children leaving the building without an adult.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• help staff to identify, even more precisely, what they intend children to know or be able to do as a result of taking part in adult-led activities.