Jolly Rainbows Nursery Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children come into the pre-school confidently and quickly settle. They know the routine very well. Children benefit from sensitive attachments with their key person. They demonstrate that they are happy, content and feel safe in the pre-school. This is evident as children keenly welcome new visitors to the setting, such as the inspector. Children excitedly choose from an interesting range of learning opportunities. Children engage well in activities and are keen to demonstrate what they know and can do. They solve problems with the support of staff. For example, children think about how to rebuild a ramp, so that the cars can roll down it without getting stuck. Older children complete number puzzles and build different structures out of wooden blocks, showing their skills in counting and their understanding of shape.

Children have positive attitudes to learning. They behave well and understand the staff's expectations. Those that struggle with managing their emotions receive consistently good support from staff. Important care practices promote good hygiene and children discuss what makes them strong and healthy. They balance, climb, and jump with control and coordination. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, are well prepared for their next stage of learning.

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

• Staff support children's communication and language skills well. They model words correctly and teach them new vocabulary. Children enjoy engaging in conversations with their friends and are confident communicators.
• Children show superb interest in books and they listen to stories attentively. Staff use comments and open-ended questions and seek children's interpretation and understanding. Children's literacy skills are further enhanced through a range of resources to promote their mark making in all areas of the pre-school.
• Support for children's physical development is good. Children develop strength and balance as they climb and stretch on beams, using the indoor equipment. They have wonderful opportunities to explore their local area and take trips to the local parks. Children learn about different groups of people in the community and learn to understand what makes them unique.
• The nursery has strong partnerships with parents. Parents say that they value the sharing of information about their children's learning, and they are happy with their children's progress. Parents enjoy attending events, such as sports day and children's performances. They say that staff are easy to approach and that their children 'love coming here'.
• Care practices are good. Staff teach children about good oral health and how to keep healthy. They provide children with healthy snacks and teach them about the importance of good hygiene. Children talk about washing germs from their hands before they eat and why it is important to keep hydrated.
• The manager intends for children to become independent and manage their self-care skills confidently. Staff provide good support, preparing children well for school. Children learn to put their coats on to go outdoors. They manage their clothes when using the toilet and wash their hands.
• Children have ample opportunities to develop their social skills and they display positive behaviours. For example, children play cooperatively and share toys.
• Staff provide a stimulating and inclusive learning environment that all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, can access. They monitor children's progress and plan a range of exciting activities that cover many areas of learning. For example, children develop their coordination skills and deepen their understanding of nature as they busily work with natural materials. However, occasionally, group activities do not meet the needs of all children. This means that some children do not learn as much as they might from these teaching opportunities.
• Staff work well as a team. They have regular meetings to reflect on their practice and the learning experiences they provide for children. The manager makes good use of supervision meetings to support staff's well-being effectively. However, monitoring of staff performance is not fully effective at identifying how individual staff members can raise the quality of their teaching to the highest level.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review and improve the organisation of group activities to ensure all children are supported to learn as much as they can
• strengthen the individual support and coaching for all staff, to improve their skills and the quality of teaching to the highest level.