Hopscotch Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are curious and engaged. Staff support children of all ages to build confidence in their opinions and explore their creativity. In the pre-school, children investigate how water travels between containers and through pipes, exploring liquids and how they move. With staff guidance, children weigh items to make jam. They confidently name the ingredients, saying blackberries, lemons and sugar. Those who have made jam with staff before recall the next steps, demonstrating good memory skills. Staff have created a good curriculum that is well planned and sequenced, supporting children to build knowledge in a clear progression. Children have time to practise what they know and build new knowledge and skills. As a result, they are well prepared for the next stage of learning.

There is a strong focus on guiding children to develop healthy eating habits and enjoy a nutritious and balanced diet. The nursery chefs prepare a menu that links to the current learning projects. For example, blackberry snacks tie in with the current project on the Blackberry Moon. Toddlers and babies focus as they try new tastes like pear and watermelon. The fruit colours match what staff are helping children of all ages explore and learn about.

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

• Children are kind to others and engaged learners. Young children focus on one activity for a long time and happily invite their friends to play with them. Staff model good manners, saying 'please' and 'thank you'. When children struggle to share toys or take turns, staff help them understand how their behaviour affects others.
• There is a strong focus on supporting children as they develop their creative skills and imagination. Staff help children express themselves in various artistic ways. Toddlers and babies discover music and rhythm by playing with percussion instruments. As they make sounds with bells and sticks, they learn to move their bodies to the beat.
• Staff build relationships with children, understanding how this boosts their learning and development. Children enjoy spending time with staff, feeling confident and secure. However, although staff report that they share key-person information with parents, some parents feed back that they do not know who their child's key person is.
• The curriculum has a strong focus on guiding children to spend time outdoors and to explore and understand nature. Children develop coordination and balance as they run in the fresh air and climb on tree trunks. Staff guide children of all ages to learn about plants and how they grow. Toddlers explore fern leaves, observing the different parts of the leaf. Supported by staff, they explore using green pencils to draw plants and leaves.
• Staff engage children in rich interactions, developing their communication well. Staff help children expand their vocabulary. They introduce new words such as 'weighing scales' and 'sticky'. However, at times, staff do not always engage the quieter children in conversations and group activities to further guide their learning and development.
• Staff well-being is important to leaders. Staff report being happy in the team and feeling supported by leaders. They comment that they are valued in their roles and believe their opinions matter. Staff undertake training courses, which positively affect children's learning and development. A recent course boosted staff confidence in adding science and technology activities to the nursery. Staff now include more experiments for children to take part in. For instance, they explore how adding dye changes the colour of liquids.
• There is a strong emphasis on teaching children to be independent. At mealtimes, staff encourage children of all ages to serve themselves food. Toddlers use knives and forks with confidence. They also know to scrape leftovers into the right bin. After they eat, they wipe their hands and faces with a warm cloth. This helps them improve their personal care skills. Pre-school children help cut fruit for snacks. Older babies pour their own drinks. This builds their hand strength and coordination.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop the key-person system even more, ensuring staff liaise with parents closely and support children's learning and development further
• engage quieter children more frequently into conversations and group activities to guide their learning and development even more.