Incey Wincey's Childcare

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive at the nursery and happily say goodbye to their carers. They confidently take off their coats and hang their bags up. Staff know children well and ensure that their favourite resources are available for them. Children know staff will respond to their immediate needs. For example, babies snuggle into staff when they need to go to sleep. Older children approach staff, confident in the knowledge they will be reassured and comforted when this is required.

Younger children enjoy acting out their real-life experiences. They pretend to make cups of tea and hand out food to their friends. Children play happily alongside their peers. Overall, children behave well. Children develop independent skills from a young age, and even babies feel secure enough to move around confidently and choose what to do.

Toddlers listen attentively to familiar stories. They join in by recalling what comes next and copying the actions modelled by staff. This helps them to develop vocabulary and supports their coordination. Children listen and follow instructions as they engage in conversations with staff. They are confident and relaxed as they giggle and laugh together. All children make good progress towards their next stage of development.

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

• Leaders devise a curriculum that incorporates all areas of learning. Staff take account of children's interests, to ignite their curiosity. For example, children learn how to care for the nursery's pet hamster, Kodak, and assist staff with cage cleaning and feeding. These well-thought-out opportunities for children to learn from hands-on experiences help bring learning to life.
• Staff support the development of language. For example, babies and toddlers enjoy playing peekaboo and will repeat back parts of words they hear. Older children enjoy learning about animals and their habitats and are intrigued to learn that a kangaroo has a pouch, 'which it uses to carry its young kangaroo'.
• A strength of the setting is the support it has in place for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Leaders leave 'no stone unturned' in their efforts to remove barriers to learning. They are relentless in their pursuit to get children the support that they rightly deserve. Care is coordinated, and all staff are aware of strategies in place to ensure that children make the best possible progress.
• Children learn about good health practices. They wash their hands after outdoor play and before mealtimes. At mealtimes, they are provided with well-balanced, nutritious food and drink. Dietary requirements are considered.
• Children have ample opportunities to be physically active, and they enjoy being outside. Older children play parachute games, balance on colourful beams and enjoy running with their friends. Younger children show good coordination as they climb using low-level apparatus.
• Staff use positive phrases to communicate their expectations for children's behaviour. For example, they remind children to 'be gentle'. However, on occasion, when children struggle to take turns or be kind, or when they become disruptive, staff do not always employ effective strategies to help children regulate their own behaviour.
• Leaders have regular meetings with staff. These meetings enable everyone to review practice and the progress children make. In addition, staff can discuss any issues that may impact on their role and agree plans for extending their professional development. The leadership team monitors practice in action. However, the feedback staff receive is currently aimed at the quality of activities and capturing children's interests. Leaders recognise that meetings with staff lack focus or coaching to support staff to improve their teaching to a consistently high level.
• Leaders create a caring environment for both staff and children. Staff say they enjoy working at the nursery. All staff and leaders work well together, which provides a happy environment for children. This is reflected in children's smiles and eagerness to explore the resources on offer. This view is also shared by parents, who comment that 'the nursery provides a loving and caring environment'.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance and extend behaviour strategies to promote children's social skills, understanding of emotions and how their behaviour impacts others
• extend the monitoring of staff practice further to ensure that they receive focused feedback and coaching to raise the quality of teaching to a consistently high level.