Helpinghands Childcare

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children benefit greatly from a warm and inviting environment. They happily enter the nursery and quickly explore the resources on offer, making decisions about their play with confidence. Children form strong attachments with familiar staff, who know them well and tailor the curriculum to support their interests and individual needs. Children feel emotionally secure, especially when they move between rooms and receive the reassurance they need to feel confident to explore.

Children behave well and understand the 'golden rules'. Staff use a range of books to support children to understand their emotions. Children discuss how they feel and how their friends feel. Older children keenly respond to questions as they listen to a familiar and chosen story. They are excited when staff show interest in their ideas and recall where the stick man will go. Young children fully engage in a retelling of 'The Gruffalo' using spoons and are excited as they make 'Gruffalo' crumble.

Children love to be active. Those just learning to stand enjoy reaching and pulling themselves up. They know their familiar person is close by and turn and point when they need help. As children play outside, staff encourage them to develop their strength while moving in different ways. Children manoeuvre themselves safely on the balance bicycles, knowing which direction to travel.

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

• Staff deliver an ambitious curriculum that is designed to build on children's confidence, independence and resilience. This helps children to prepare for the next stage of their education. There is a robust key-person system, and staff clearly identify and display children's next steps in learning. Staff know their key children well and tailor learning opportunities, such as games that focus on sharing and taking turns, to support their learning and development.
• Staff work hard to build open and trusting relationships with parents. They share lots of information about children's development and encourage parents to be part of the assessment process. Parents comment that staff are committed to their job and go the extra mile for their children. They say that children's welfare is at the heart of everything that the leaders and staff strive for and children thrive in their care.
• Staff are strong role models for children's communication and language. They create many opportunities for social interaction. Children interact enthusiastically with their peers and staff. Children play collaboratively, using their imaginations to negotiate rules and engage in simple science experiments. Children gasp in awe as they make magic potions and see them bubble. Older children make comparisons to a volcano and staff introduce words, such as 'erupting'.
• Children are consistently encouraged to develop their independence from accessing their own fruit at snack time and self-serving at mealtimes, to putting their own coats on. Staff guide children in these tasks while allowing them to take responsibility, helping them to build and develop these skills.
• Throughout the nursery, staff invite children to share books in the cosy reading corner, individually and in groups. Children enjoy turning the pages and looking at the pictures of familiar stories. Staff nurture children's love of books. This helps to develop children's early literacy skills.
• On the whole, staff's interactions with children are good. Children are well supported to make the progress of which they are capable. For example, staff demonstrate how to use tools for children to copy and practise in their chosen way. The youngest children manipulate dough to strengthen hand muscles and older children skilfully use tweezers to pick up objects. However, on occasions, staff do not ensure that the quietest children are always fully engaged in activities and, therefore, they do not fully benefit from the learning.
• The leadership team is committed to providing a high-quality service that reflects the unique needs of the children attending. Leaders successfully prioritise the emotional well-being of staff. However, opportunities for staff to share their expertise across the nursery is not always fully maximised. Communication between leaders and staff is highly effective. This results in a very harmonious and positive atmosphere throughout the nursery.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• consider more closely how to monitor and adapt activities to ensure that all children, in particular quieter children, can fully engage and benefit from the learning opportunities
• provide greater opportunities for staff to share their knowledge and expertise to help them to raise learning experiences even further and embed consistency in teaching across the nursery.