Jelly Tots

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children develop strong, nurturing relationships with staff at this warm and welcoming nursery. Children demonstrate that they feel safe and secure from the moment they arrive. They demonstrate positive, friendly behaviour, as they are greeted by the friendly and familiar staff members. As a result, children separate from their parents with ease.

Children are curious and keen to take part in activities. They make good use of the accessible resources within the play environment. For example, children transport dinosaurs into the sand and engage in conversations with staff about them. Children enjoy building towers using the building blocks and constructing train tracks. Staff challenge children's learning further by encouraging them to sort bricks into colours and by asking children to decide the position of different train carriages on the track. This supports children to widen their understanding of mathematical language.

Children enjoy listening to traditional stories and singing Christmas songs. Craft activities enable children to develop their own creative flair. For example, children paint on mirrors and enjoy decorating a gingerbread house. Staff help children to develop their small-muscle skills very well. Young children use paint sticks and chalk with excellent control. Staff skilfully extend children's learning by introducing concepts, such as number, size and shape as children experiment making marks on chalkboards. Children are enthusiastic and excitedly talk to staff about their experiences.

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

• The actions raised from the last inspection and subsequent monitoring visit have been suitably met. Supervision meetings are now in place to ensure staff are better supported in their role. Staff benefit from a targeted programme of learning which supports their practice and builds on their skills and knowledge of the early years curriculum. Staff are more confident in their role, and this is seen in the good teaching practice observed throughout the inspection.
• Children behave well. Staff provide clear explanations and use role modelling to help children to understand about acceptable behaviours and boundaries. Younger children receive gentle reminders of how to share, take turns and play with others. Unwanted behaviours are dealt with swiftly and applied quickly to ensure children's safety. Staff know the children well. The key-person system is effectively implemented to ensure children's individual needs are met.
• Children learn and practise independence skills, such as washing their hands and feeding themselves. Staff provide a range of healthy snacks and supervise mealtimes effectively. They remind children to sit down when accessing their drinking bottles. Food is prepared following food safety guidelines and sleep areas are free from any previously identified potential risks or hazards.
• Staff support and encourage children's communication and language. Children engage in meaningful conversations during their play. Staff reinforce the correct pronunciation of words and introduce new vocabulary. At story time, older children excitedly respond to staff's questions and listen to each other respectfully. Staff support younger children's developing communication by constantly repeating different words and sounds. However, opportunities are less promoted to support children who speak English as an additional language to hear and use their home language and keywords in the nursery.
• Parents speak highly of the nursery, referring to the setting as 'vital and valuable to the community'. Parents say that staff have done an 'amazing job with their children' and how they 'receive the best support for the family'. Online record systems are in place to share activities, progress and information with parents. However, not all parents have accessed this or aware that information about children's progress is available on this platform. The manager recognises this and has plans in place to improve these links with parents. In addition, staff do not always provide sufficient information to parents and carers during handovers.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance opportunities for children who speak English as an additional language to hear and use their home language in the setting, to further support their well-being and overall language development
• strengthen staff's practice for providing parents and carers with sufficient information about children's care routines and activities each day.