ILM Day Nurseries

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are eager to enter the setting. They rush in excitedly and are happy to separate from their parents and see their friends. Children feel safe and secure. Staff are extremely kind and nurturing. Children behave well. Staff support them to manage their own feelings and resolve their conflicts with friends. Staff use positive reinforcement and praise. This helps children with their self-esteem. Children engage well and sustain long periods of time at their chosen activities. They enjoy listening to stories and singing songs. Staff use props to help younger children learn action songs. Children develop a love of reading. Older children have recreated the story of 'Little Red Riding Hood'. They confidently talk about the story and which parts they made for the wall display. They can recall past knowledge and apply this by sequencing the pictures of the story.

Outdoors, children use a climbing frame or ride on wheeled toys. This helps them to practise their large muscles. Children enjoy digging in soil or experimenting making their own gloopy mixture with cornflour and water. They talk about it being solid and how it turns to a liquid. They use their fingers to squish the mixture and make marks. This helps to strengthen their small muscles ready for pencil control. Older children learn about recycling. They make their own paper and talk about how important trees are, and that they make oxygen for us to breathe.

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

• The provider, manager and her staff team are extremely good role models. They know the children well and plan and implement a curriculum designed to give children the knowledge and skills required for their next stage of learning, and eventual move to school. All children make good progress in their learning, and for some the progress is exceptional.
• The provider links with other settings to share best practice. Staff visit and watch activities and share ideas about the delivery of the curriculum. Observations of staff practice are completed by the manager. At times, other managers from other settings will visit and observe. The manager completes regular supervisions and appraisals. This ensures that quality of teaching is consistently good and at times outstanding.
• Staff have access to training to support them in their professional development. They attend specific training to support children with their communication and language skills. All children are screened using a speech-screening tool. Targets are set which are designed to swiftly close any gaps in learning. Bilingual staff support children who speak English as an additional language. They also use pictures of what happens next to further embed the nursery routines. Consequently, children become confident and effective communicators.
• Partnerships with parents are exceptional. Parents speak extremely highly of the setting. They say the manager and staff are amazing, and go above and beyond to support them and their children. Communication about their children's learning is shared regularly. If the manager or staff have concerns about a child's development, this is shared with parents. Swift referrals are made to any external agencies if required. This ensures that no child is left behind, and that they still make the best possible progress.
• Children learn the importance of a healthy lifestyle. They practise cleaning pretend teeth. Staff talk to them about the effects sugar has on their body and their teeth. Children learn how it makes their teeth decay. Recently, the older children learnt about the heart and how it works. They talked about the effects exercise has and how to keep themselves healthy. Children wash their hands regularly and eat healthy snacks provided by the setting.
• A strong focus is placed on children learning literacy and mathematics. Children learn the letter names, and regular phonics lessons help children learn the sounds. They enjoy finding objects around the room which begin with the same letter sound. Children can confidently count to 20 and learn concepts, such as 'big' or 'small'. Homework books provided support children with their handwriting skills at home. Some children are already able to successfully write their own names.
• Children independently choose the activities they want to play with. Staff skilfully interact with them, and staff deployment is effective in ensuring that all children's need are met. However, on occasion, children's interest in an activity is not always well catered for. The continuous provision the manager and staff want to provide is not always as successful as it can be. This means some children can not do want they want and lose interest.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review the continuous provision to provide children with opportunities when they arise to keep them fully engaged.