Jack and Jill Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enjoy their time at this warm and supportive nursery. Friendly staff welcome children and their families as they arrive. Children quickly settle and engage in motivating activities. For example, babies love watching wooden cars fall down a ramp and older children enjoy using glue, sand, and glitter to create sea pictures. Staff take time to get to know each child and build strong relationships with all children. Staff who work with babies are nurturing and responsive and tailor the care and learning they provide to each child. Children go to staff for reassurance and support. Staff respond with positivity, praise, and cuddles. This helps children feel safe and secure.

Children behave well. Staff encourage them to act with empathy towards each other. They praise children for following the nursery's rules and boundaries. Older children say 'thank you' when staff give them resources or help them with a task. Children beam with pride when they earn 'golden coins' to drop into their 'cauldron of rules' when staff notice them listening, walking indoors, or being kind to their friends.

Children are keen to involve themselves in the exciting activities staff prepare for them inside and outdoors. For example, children of all ages love being able to choose books for themselves and enjoy exploring different ride on toys outside. These opportunities help children develop their knowledge and skills across all areas of learning.

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

• Leaders have a clear intent for children's learning. They have designed a curriculum that builds on what children know and can do. There is a focus on supporting children's personal, social, and emotional development. Leaders make good use of training to develop staff's knowledge and skills. Staff use their understanding of the importance of attachment from recent training to make strong bonds with children from day one. This helps to build children's confidence in themselves and their abilities. For instance, babies independently climb on the soft play equipment, smiling at their key person as they reach the top. Older children make crowns from construction blocks and take them to show staff.
• Relationships with parents are strong. Staff use many different ways to share and gather information with parents. Staff regularly share updates about children's learning and progress and continually communicate with parents about children's experiences at home. They use this effectively to plan children's care and learning. Parents are invited to participate in activities with their children at monthly 'stay and play' sessions and can borrow books from the 'book share shed' to support children's reading at home. Parents say they feel able to approach staff should they have any concerns or need support. They talk about how happy children are to attend, and how quickly they settle. Parents describe the nursery as being like 'a home from home.'
• Staff interactions with children are caring and encouraging. Staff respond positively to children's comments, questions, and requests. They regularly praise children's efforts and achievements. However, at times some staff do not recognise when they need to interact and engage with children during their play to fully extend children's learning.
• Staff support children's physical development well. Children have many opportunities during the day to practise using their muscles to run, climb, throw, balance, and use a range of tools and equipment. For instance, staff model and teach children how to pedal and steer bikes and trikes, how to control their body movements as they roll, throw, and catch balls, and how to use their fingers to pick up and place small objects in jars using tweezers. Children show they are building up these skills as they confidently enjoy taking part in these activities.
• Children are learning to manage their self-care and independence. For example, toddlers wash their hands independently before lunch. However, staff sometimes miss opportunities for older children to practise their independence skills and at times step in too quickly to do simple tasks for children.
• Older children benefit from being able to take time out of their busy day to learn how to be calm and still. Staff plan daily opportunities for children to take part in yoga, or to listen to calming music or stories in a quiet environment. This helps children to recharge and focus and concentrate on activities for longer periods of time to fully immerse themselves in their play and learning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• ensure all staff understand how to recognise moments when they need to engage and interact with children during play to fully extend children's learning
• support staff who work with older children to consistently make the most of all opportunities to encourage children's independence to enable children to learn and practise the skills they need ready for school.