Jitterbugs Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are very happy and confident and show a love of learning in this friendly and welcoming nursery. They are independent learners, focused on the many engaging learning opportunities that staff provide. Children show very high levels of engagement in their play. They access activities that are well sequenced over time in the nursery. For example, to support children's physical development, staff encourage young children to spend time figuring out how to crawl through a tunnel. Staff support pre-school children to wait to take their turn on an obstacle course they have designed.

Staff are excellent role models and treat children with high levels of respect and kindness. They form positive relationships and set high expectations for children's behaviour. Children consistently show what they know and can do with pride. They have a strong sense of belonging in the nursery and understand what is expected of them. For example, pre-school children remind each other of the number of children permitted to play in an area of the provision. They access a mezzanine upstairs by checking in and out using a card system, knowing this is for their safety. Parents and carers comment on how their children thrive in the nursery. They recognise the support their children receive and the progress they make, especially regarding their communication and language.

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

• Leaders are passionate and committed. They have a clear vision for the nursery and what they want for children who attend. Leaders reflect regularly on practice to support the staff team in developing and delivering the curriculum. They provide effective supervision sessions and appraisals, staff meetings and in-house training. Staff reflect on their practice and understand what they need to do to improve. They comment on the high levels of support for their professional development and well-being they receive from leaders.
• Leaders and staff regularly review the environment and act swiftly to improve the provision. For example, they have recently introduced a specific outdoor space to improve access to outdoor provision for young children. Additionally, staff recently used information gathered from visits to a local setting that supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) to inform specific interventions to support all children. This provides an environment that is well considered to support all children's communication and learning.
• Staff provide a well-rounded curriculum to support children's personal development. Staff enhance children's well-being, such as through the recent addition of the nursery's pet dog, Winnie. They teach children about their emotions carefully using a familiar story and play resources. This is effectively sequenced to build on what children know as they progress through the nursery. As such, children show high levels of well-being and confidence in the nursery.
• Staff know children exceptionally well. They consider children's backgrounds and plan meaningful experiences and activities. For example, when teaching children about taking care of the environment, pre-school children learn about recycling. Children comment on keeping their beach and the oceans clean from plastic and how doing this will make the animals in the sea 'happy and safe'.
• Staff's interactions with children during their play are highly effective. They sensitively introduce new concepts that extend what children know and can do by demonstrating, modelling and thinking out loud. Staff consider children's communication and language consistently using effective strategies, such as focusing on introducing specific vocabulary. However, group activities do not support all children's learning. For example, the length of group times is quite long, and this results in some children losing focus and concentration. In addition, at times staff's teaching can be fast paced, and this can confuse some children.
• Children show high levels of independence throughout the nursery, which is embedded from a young age. Staff set ambitious targets for children to reach by the time they leave for school. For example, they encourage children in the baby room to make simple choices during their snack time. Staff praise toddlers for their effort in attempting tasks around their daily routine. This encourages children to keep trying and know they can make mistakes. Staff are consistent in this approach throughout the child's time in the nursery. This gives children a sense of agency, security and belonging.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• reflect on and enhance group sessions to maintain high-quality teaching and learning for all children.