Hodan Day Care

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children settle at the nursery with support from the kind and considerate staff. Staff reassure children as they arrive with warm greetings and soothing words, helping them to feel safe and secure. They know children well and adapt their care and learning approaches to children's individual needs. For example, staff recognise that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) benefit from some individual time with staff when they arrive to help them settle into the routines of the day.

Staff find out and plan for children's interests and learning needs. Staff provide opportunities for children to develop the skills required for the future. For example, children manipulate play dough, use jugs for pouring and make marks with paintbrushes and pens. This helps strengthen their arm and hand muscles for later writing. Children develop a keen interest in reading. They choose to look at books and listen to many stories read well by staff.

Staff follow plans that clearly identify the knowledge children will learn and in what order. They check regularly what children know, understand and can do. They use this information to decide what children need to learn next. Children, including those with SEND, those who speak English as an additional language and those who are in receipt of additional funding, make good progress.

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

• The manager is enthusiastic and dedicated to her role. She uses her wealth of experience to lead her staff team well. The nursery has staff who are developing their own knowledge and skills through their ongoing continual professional development to enhance their practice. The manager provides effective coaching, supervision and support. Staff say that they enjoy their roles and feel valued and supported.
• Overall, the manager and staff implement an ambitious, well-sequenced curriculum. However, sometimes, staff do not identify opportunities in children's play when they can take their learning to the next level. For instance, staff do not consistently challenge children's learning to build on what they know and can already do. In this way, children are not consistently provided with high levels of challenge throughout the day.
• Children, including those who speak English as an additional language, are becoming confident communicators and readily chat with visitors. Staff are good role models. They use clear speech and repeat simple words and phrases to secure children's understanding. Children's communication and language is a key focus of the nursery.
• Staff support children to develop their mathematics skills. Children confidently count and recognise numbers displayed and written in chalk in the outdoor area. Staff introduce names of shapes as children play. During a painting activity, staff support children to compare lengths as they add string to paint to make patterns.
• Children behave well. Although the staff have high expectations of children and encourage them to carry out tasks independently, at times, they do not consistently reinforce these expectations. For example, at lunchtime, staff serve the children food and set the table for them. They also put aprons and coats on children, which they are more than able to do independently.
• Partnership with parents is good. Parents are positive about the setting and the care and attention their children receive from staff. They highlight how much progress their children have made over time. Parents appreciate the information they regularly receive about their children's progress and the ideas for how to support their learning at home. Staff work closely with parents and professionals from other agencies to identify children with SEND early.
• Children eat healthy foods at mealtimes and learn about healthy lifestyle choices. Outdoors, children run and show increasing balance as they step along stepping stones and climb on crates. Staff consistently implement good hygiene practices. Children begin to learn to manage their own personal needs, such as washing their hands before eating.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to strengthen their teaching strategies to consistently challenge and extend children's learning
• enhance opportunities for children to develop independence through daily routines.