Jack and Jill's Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enjoy the time at the nursery and demonstrate a positive attitude to their learning. They receive consistent praise for their efforts and achievements, which develops their confidence and motivates them to continue to persevere at their chosen activity. Younger children develop their hand-to-eye coordination as they scoop and pour water from one container to another. Children smile and laugh as they join in with action rhymes, clapping, jumping, turning round and waving their arms. Younger children develop their early writing skills as they paint and make marks on the chalk board. Some older children write their names on their imaginary passports and proceed to use them to check into the pretend airport.

Children enjoy being physically active in the fresh air. Babies enjoy swinging on the swing. Younger children learn to climb the steps of the slide and manoeuvre wheeled toys. Older children gain a practical understanding of safety. For example, they use the obstacle course and assess whether they can climb and jump safely. Older children use their good language skills as they describe how they will bake the 'chocolate cake' they are making at the mud kitchen. They discuss how to decorate it with icing and strawberries and proceed to find pinecones to use as the strawberries. Children enjoy experimenting. For example, they paint the shed with water and successfully work out that the water makes the shed look darker, and this then goes lighter when the water dries.

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

• The manager and senior management team have worked hard to embed the curriculum intentions across the nursery. They regularly reflect on the overall effectiveness of the provision to support them to maintain standards. Management demonstrates a strong desire to continue to improve. The manager and staff understand children's needs and use any additional funding effectively to offer children well-tailored opportunities that aid their development.
• Staff form close bonds with the children and interact with them well. They understand what children need to learn next and are clear about the intentions of each activity. Staff continually reflect on each child's emerging interests and encourage them to extend their play and to remember previous learning. For example, children recall the names of dinosaurs. They discuss what the dinosaurs like to eat. A staff member helps them remember the differences between carnivore and herbivore. Additionally, staff actively encourage children to use their developing language skills to talk about what they have been doing.
• Staff develop positive relationships with parents. They support parents to extend their children's learning. For example, they review children's progress and offer ideas for activities to try at home. Staff are sensitive to the needs of children and their families, particularly in relation to the COVID-19 lockdowns. They are aware that some children have had fewer opportunities to socialise with others, and so offer additional support to aid this.
• Staff help children to feel settled and welcome. They treat all children with respect and act as positive role models. Staff actively support children to listen to instructions, share, take their turn and be kind to their friends.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported. Staff understand their needs and work well with other professionals. This supports staff in ensuring that children are included and make good progress. For example, staff support children in listening, communicating and interacting appropriately with others.
• Children who speak English as an additional language are offered good support. Staff help them to learn English and also show respect for their home languages. For example, young children join in with songs and action rhymes sung in the home languages of some of the children in their room. Opportunities such as these also help children to recognise and understand differences.
• Staff ensure children's care is tailored to meet their individual needs. For example, children's dietary requirements and preferences are understood and adhered to across the nursery. Children enjoy mealtimes. They develop good manners and social skills. Older children learn to take responsibility and demonstrate increasing independence as they serve their own food and pour their own drinks.
• The manager has supported staff's emotional well-being during the pandemic and ensures that their workloads are manageable. Staff complete mandatory training, such as child protection. However, management does not always make the best use of training and development opportunities to support staff, and to further raise the quality of their teaching.
• Children independently choose the resources and activities that they would like to play with. However, at times, staff interrupt children's play and learning to focus on their daily routines and plans. This occasionally limits opportunities for the children to continue to explore and develop their own play and ideas, and the activities they are enjoying.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance the use of professional development opportunities to focus more precisely on building staff's knowledge and understanding, in order to continually raise the quality of teaching
• support staff further in following daily routines while still recognising and allowing children time to enable children to develop and complete activities they are enjoying.