Happy Days Nursery and Pre-School Boughton Monchelsea

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children learn to be independent in preparation for the next place for their learning. Children develop a robust knowledge of the importance of hygiene through routine activities and discussions with staff. For example, toddlers wipe up spillages in their kitchen area. Pre-school children remind others to wash their hands after outdoor messy play. Babies listen to instructions from their key person to find the box of tissues to have their noses wiped.

Children's physical skills are highly promoted. Babies learn to climb the stairs safely, listening to their key person's instructions to go on their bottoms and to hold hands for balance. Toddlers experiment with larger equipment, learning to climb steps and experimenting with how they want to slide down, watching others travel faster and further. Pre-school children use large movements in the mud and water to extend their muscle development in order to support skills for the future, such as writing.

Children play in a calm, reassuring environment. Children feel safe, secure, welcome and loved. They confidently explore their play space in all rooms, returning to their key person for reassurance to try new skills and to experiment in their play further. Children have close attachments to staff, developing a caring relationship with them. This helps children to develop confidence, self-esteem and enthusiasm to participate in new and exciting experiences.

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

• Staff know the children well. They use children's interests and preferences in play to provide stimulating and inviting experiences for children to challenge and extend their learning. They recognise how each child learns and encourage children to learn from each other. Children particularly learn well through experimenting and exploring with different resources. Staff encourage children to think critically and to problem-solve.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive very positive, inclusive care. Staff work tirelessly with parents and other professionals to provide a cohesive personal care and learning plan to support children's individual needs. Children's smallest of achievements are shared and celebrated to promote their self-esteem and pride in closing gaps in their development.
• Parents make very positive comments about the ongoing care and learning for their children. They feel reassured that children are safe and cared for by suitably experienced and trained staff. Parents appreciate the handover of their children in the morning and at the end of the day with the same member of staff. They receive plentiful information about their child's achievements and what they are working towards next.
• Children develop expressive language and communication skills and confidently extend their vocabulary. Younger children learn to share conversations with others, babbling confidently with staff and eagerly waiting for responses. Toddlers join words together, find their voices and make new sounds. Pre-school children extend their vocabulary through staff's effective open-ended questions, helping children to think critically and problem-solve.
• Staff have a positive attitude towards their professional development. Management evaluates staff's practice through supervision meetings. However, staff sometimes do not have the confidence to evaluate the effectiveness of their practice themselves. They do not always recognise the impact their practice has on children's learning or make the immediate changes necessary to support children's progress more effectively.
• Children behave well. They develop close friendships with their peers. They show care and compassion towards younger children. For example, pre-school children help younger children to their feet after they have toppled over in the garden. Staff are positive role models for children, openly supporting each other. Children use good manners, saying 'please' and 'thank you'. They share resources and cooperate in their play, developing their social skills in readiness for school.
• Children learn effective self-help skills. Older children serve themselves at lunchtime, making choices as to how much they want to eat. Staff encourage the further use of tools. For example, children use knives to cut up their vegetables. Younger children learn to put on their boots and coats. They learn to look for the leg holes in their rain suits to start to put them on themselves.
• Children thoroughly enjoy outdoor play. They participate in a wealth of stimulating experiences. For example, older children throw leaves in the air to discover what happens when the wind blows. Toddlers experiment with movement and balance, walking on the side of the sandpit. Younger children explore the puddles, splashing and stomping their feet and hands.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to spontaneously evaluate the effectiveness of their practice and make immediate changes where necessary to improve the quality of teaching further.