Jelly Babies Pre-School & Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happily and leave their parents at the gate with ease. They settle quickly into the routine at this family run nursery. Outdoors, children lead their learning and make decisions about their play. They have access to a range of resources that reflect their interests. Children have good relationships with staff and peers. They feel safe and secure, and confidently express themselves. Children behave well and show kindness towards each other. They follow instructions and show awareness of what is expected of them. They understand the use of timers to countdown the end of activities, and share and take turns when they play. Staff praise children, which develops their emotional well-being, confidence and good behaviour. Children's independence is promoted well. They confidently follow handwashing routines and clear away their plates and cups after they have finished eating. Consequently, children gain skills in preparation for their next stage in learning.

Children engage actively in their play and have good attitudes to learning. In whole-group movement sessions, children participate energetically. They reach high, bend low, run and spin around. Children use items like baking powder and washing-up liquid, to see how these react with water. Children sing songs about adding fruits and vegetables together; this supports early mathematical development. Children enjoy threading fruit onto skewers to eat at snack time, which develops their small-muscle skills. They show understanding of healthy eating and talk about how fruit makes them strong.

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

• Overall, leaders and managers provide an effective curriculum across all areas of learning. In the main, the curriculum is based on the children's interests and builds on what they already know and can do. Staff interact well with children and encourage them to fully engage; this motivates children to learn.
• Children develop a good understanding of healthy lifestyles. They enjoy healthy snacks provided by the nursery and learn to control their bodies through movement and balance in a daily yoga session. As a result, this promotes children's physical skills and mental well-being.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported. Managers ensure that the interests of the children are catered for and they work closely with other professionals. This means that all children receive the help they need to enable them to make good progress.
• Staff know the learning and developmental needs of the children that they work with. Overall, staff understand the children's ages and stages of development, and identify gaps in their learning. They plan group activities to meet the children's needs. As a result, children make good progress from their starting points.
• Partnership with parents is strong. Parents speak highly of the nursery and are happy with the support their children receive. They value the information they are given about their child's progress, both written and verbal. They also receive advice on how to support their child's learning at home. This means there is continuity between the nursery and home.
• The behaviour of children is good. Staff are good role models and gently remind children of how they are expected to behave. As a result, children listen and respond well to the staff.
• Leaders and managers recognise the impact COVID-19 has had on children's speech and language development. Staff use sign language to support the children's speech. They also introduce new vocabulary. However, children are not encouraged to use new words in different play situations. Staff repeat words that children say but do not extend these. Therefore, children do not always develop the confidence in the use of new vocabulary to further develop their language skills.
• Children are exposed to opportunities to learn new ideas and concepts. However, on occasion, staff do not fully use opportunities to ensure children understand new concepts that are introduced to them, such as weight. This means that children have not yet fully embedded newly acquired knowledge.
• Leaders and managers are aware of the diversity of their learning community. They celebrate festivals from different cultures, such as Diwali and Chinese New Year. Parents often come to the nursery to share items from their own culture with the children, and talk about their traditions. This allows children to feel valued and develop understanding, respect and tolerance of others.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• increase opportunities for children to build on new vocabulary and further develop confidence in their language skills
• ensure children's learning is sequenced appropriately to help them remember and use their new knowledge and skills.