Harcourt Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive content and thoroughly enjoy their time at this homely nursery. They happily leave their parents on arrival and quickly engage in their play. Children feel safe and secure knowing that their needs will be met. Children are familiar with the routines of the day. They know what is expected of them. Children demonstrate good manners and remind each other if they forget. As a result, children's behaviour and attitudes are lovely.

Children develop secure relationships with their key person, who knows them well. Staff provide stimulating and challenging activities based on children's interests and needs. For example, younger children are enthralled as they sing and copy the actions to their favourite song. Children learn to share at the dough table as staff make sure that all children have a turn using the tools. As a result, children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make good progress.

Children take part in activities that support their physical skills. For example, they learn to climb the slide's steps, then glide down. Babies enjoy the ball pool and soft play as they jump and slide into the balls. Children develop good physical skills.

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

• Managers and staff provide a sequenced curriculum to enable children to build on what they already know and can do. For example, children develop their independence skills from an early age. Babies take off their shoes and coats. Children have easy access to stimulating and challenging activities. Older children skilfully serve their own food and pour their own drinks. Children proudly demonstrate how they put on their coats. Children learn to be independent.
• Overall, staff support children's early language development well. For example, staff use clear sentences and offer simple instructions for children to follow. Children enjoy taking part in storytelling. Younger children enthusiastically anticipate what comes next in the story. Staff discuss the story with older children, building on what they already know. However, in the pre-school room, children join the story at different times as they finish their lunch. This means that not all children get to listen to all of the story and this could impact their understanding of the structure of stories.
• Staff introduce mathematics into all areas of learning. They use lots of repetition and open-ended questions to gain an understanding of what children know and can do. For example, children use tweezers to sort items into colours. They count how many items they have collected. Children comment on the size of pom-poms, saying 'Wow, that one's massive', as they carefully place them into size order. Children use mathematics in their play.
• Children in the pre-school room move freely between their rooms. Toddlers are encouraged to stay within their room but are safe to explore the pre-school rooms as well. However, toddler room staff do not always keep a watchful eye on children when moving to the sleep room. As a result, toddlers can wander into the playrooms without staff knowing.
• Managers support staff's well-being and provide them with mentoring through regular supervision meetings. Staff share any concerns which they may have and are supported in taking appropriate action. They are encouraged to develop their skills and knowledge by attending a variety of training courses. Management check that staff understand and can implement any new learning to improve children's outcomes.
• Managers have made many improvements to the children's environment. They have made children's toilets and nappy-changing areas more child friendly and inviting. Staff provide children with a range of natural calming resources, such as cosy dens, a soft-play room and realistic role-play areas. As a result, staff have identified that children are calmer in their play and learning.
• Partnership with parents is positive. Staff share information on a regular basis with parents via an electronic app and face-to-face conversations. Parents are kept up to date with their child's daily routines and activities that they have taken part in. Parents know how their children are developing and receive ideas to support their learning at home when needed.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• ensure that all children can listen and join in the whole of a story and develop an understanding of story structure
• make sure that when toddlers are moving around the nursery that staff communicate to each other which playroom the children are in.