Jack and Jill's Day Nursery Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff greet children warmly as they arrive. They know children well and offer reassurance and comfort if they become upset. As a result, children quickly settle to their chosen activity. Children demonstrate through their interactions with staff that they feel happy and safe. They actively seek staff out to join in their play and confidently show visitors what they are doing. Relationships between staff and children are respectful. Staff ask permission to wipe children's noses and sensitively carry out care routines, such as nappy changing. This helps to make children feel valued.

The curriculum is planned to ensure that every child's individual next steps for learning, needs and interests are incorporated. As a result, all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make good progress from their starting points. Children experience and can choose from a range of activities to promote their interest. Babies happily splash in the water tray and shout with excitement as they find the ducks. Staff regularly ask children how they are feeling and introduce strategies to help children to begin to regulate their own behaviour. Staff are extremely conscious of children's safety. When younger children are just starting to walk and climb, staff are vigilant to allow them the experience to move in different ways, while also keeping themselves safe.

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

• The nursery benefits from a strong, hands-on leadership and management team. Leaders have a good oversight of the nursery, and they regularly oversee practice. The manager from this nursery and the manager from the providers other nursery offer support to each other. They speak daily, hold monthly meetings and attend training courses together. They continually reflect and implement plans to ensure that quality continues to improve.
• The manager has a clear overview of what she wants children to learn at each stage of their development. She sets out these expectations for staff and regularly asks them questions to check that the activities have a learning purpose for each individual child. The manager monitors staff practice and provides them with training opportunities to continue their professional development. Staff benefit from regular supervision meetings and appraisals to reflect on their practice and identify areas for further improvement.
• Children's communication is generally supported well, especially for babies. Staff working with babies introduce lots of new vocabulary and continually talk to children about what they are doing. Staff recognise that the use of dummies can hinder children's speech. They share this information with parents and work with them to keep the use of dummies to a minimum. Staff introduce new words and ask questions. However, at times they do not provide children with enough time to think of responses and are too quick to answer or talk for them.
• Older children explore ice. They say that the ice 'crackles' when warm water is added. They know that ice melts when they hold it in their hands because their hands are warm and the ice is cold. However, sometimes staff do not organise activities well enough to fully engage children and are too quick to move them onto something else before they have finished exploring what they are doing.
• Staff know the children very well. They know that some children are strong characters, and they manage challenging behaviours and continual outbursts appropriately and consistently across both the toddler and pre-school rooms. They provide children with calm areas and time for reflection to think about the impact of their behaviour on others. However, they do not always consider how to make the very best use of all areas, especially outside, to help to alleviate some of the behaviour and focus children's attention on other activities.
• Children are beginning to learn about healthy food options. They enjoy healthy, home-cooked meals and staff tell them that the meat in the pie is protein and helps to give them energy. Staff are positive role models as they sit with the children and eat vegetables to encourage those who are not sure to give them a try. They remind children to drink, and children enjoy water that is flavoured with fresh berries and lemons.
• Staff work closely in partnership with parents. They share information with them about what their child has been doing and what they are working towards. Parents spoken to are happy with the care their children receive. They say children rush to attend and that the staff are fantastic.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• help staff to recognise how to organise activities and make the very best of the environment, including outdoors, to focus children's engagement and enhance their involvement
• provide children with more time to answer questions, to fully promote their thinking skills and extend their learning even further.