Happy Orkids Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The dedicated manager and her equally committed team welcome children warmly to the exciting and inviting play environment. They work hard and invest time in getting to know the children and their families. Children arrive happy and are keen to come into the nursery. Children who are new to the nursery are given a great deal of care and support to help them feel safe and secure. There is an ambitious and well-thought-out curriculum in place. Staff carefully plan experiences in the nursery based on children's interests. Children show high levels of engagement. For example, when making dough, older children carefully scoop and mix different ingredients. Staff show genuine interest in what children do and say. There is a lot of laughter, kindness and respect throughout the nursery.

Children's behaviour is good. They listen and follow instructions. They sit well together on the carpet at group times and are learning to respectfully listen to each other when it is other children's time to speak. Staff have high expectations of the children. Together, staff and children discuss the 'golden rules' of the nursery and what each one means. Staff and children refer to the rules during the day. For example, children understand that using a sand timer will mean that everyone gets a turn during an activity.

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

• Senior leaders and the manager are passionate about the vision and ethos of the nursery. They ensure that children's well-being and development, and partnerships with parents and their staff team, are a priority. Together, they reflect on their practice. The manager recognises the importance of keeping staff's professional development up to date.
• The special educational needs and/or disabilities coordinator has an extensive knowledge of how to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). She works alongside all staff, parents and external agencies to ensure that children's individual needs are being met. Consequently, children with SEND and those from disadvantaged backgrounds progress well. Staff are dedicated to creating an inclusive environment for all children.
• Children show a positive attitude to doing things for themselves and develop their independence and sense of responsibility successfully. For example, babies happily feed themselves at lunchtime. Older children proudly scrape their plates after they have finished eating. Children are keen to practise these tasks and receive lots of praise for their achievements. This helps to raise their self-esteem and confidence in their abilities.
• Partnerships with parents are a key strength of the nursery. Staff develop very good relationships with parents, offering regular updates about what their children are learning. Parents comment that their children have 'grown in confidence' and have been given the 'love and tools to succeed at school'. Parents have opportunities to spend time in the nursery and to learn new skills themselves. For example, they can attend workshops, such as first aid training.
• Staff work together extremely well. The manager values the staff team and uses supervision sessions to talk about their well-being. Staff comment that they feel valued and supported.
• Staff plan exciting and well-thought-out activities. For example, children enjoy using toothbrushes and shaving foam to practise brushing teeth on a paper cutout. Children are fascinated as they explore with water outside. They use different resources to pour and scoop. Some children use cloths to wash the baby dolls in the water tray. Staff understand what they want children to learn during these activities. However, on some occasions, some staff do not expand on children's learning or ask enough challenging questions to extend children's thinking further.
• Children enjoy a spacious and well-equipped garden space and have plenty of opportunities to be outside and explore freely. They practise their physical skills in a variety of ways. For example, children thoroughly enjoy their weekly music and movement session, where they learn to move their bodies in a range of ways. Children are served healthy and nutritious meals and staff understand the importance of promoting healthy lifestyles.
• Staff support language well. They provide children with opportunities to engage in individual and group discussions. This supports children to become confident communicators. Children of all ages develop a love of stories. Staff create interactive storytelling sessions, and children show great enjoyment at acting out different parts of the story with their friends. Children and staff enjoy songs and rhymes. They routinely burst into song throughout the day. Children eagerly sing the 'morning train' song as a group. This helps to create a motivated and joyous atmosphere at the beginning of each day.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support all staff to develop their teaching strategies to consistently challenge and extend children's learning.