Kara Cornwall T/A Sticky Fingers Daycare Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff welcome children warmly into the nursery and children are excited to meet friends and explore. There is a strong focus on children's social and emotional development throughout the nursery. Staff form strong and nurturing attachments with babies and give lots of smiles and cuddles. Older children are emotionally secure and have a sense of belonging in the setting. Staff include them in decision-making. For example, children have a vote to decide on their favourite stories and happily accept the outcome. Staff treat children with kindness and respect and children take turns and share resources with very few reminders.

The manager and staff know the children well and plan a broad and balanced curriculum that helps children to build on their knowledge and skills. Staff work hard to ensure that children move through the nursery confidently and ready for what they need to learn next. There is an emphasis on sharing books and the many skills children develop through well-thought-out song and story times. In the pre-school room, story time is a joyful experience. Staff expertly bring stories to life and children animatedly respond with their own thoughts and ideas. Children say they love stories and frequently choose to look at books throughout their day.

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

• The manager is committed to providing children with high-quality care and learning experiences. Together with her dedicated staff team, she works hard to continually improve the nursery. Staff say that they feel well supported and there are good opportunities to develop their skills. For example, more experienced staff give support and coaching to less experienced members of staff.
• Parents speak very highly of the nursery and, in particular, the kind and caring staff. They appreciated the individual attention paid to settling children when they first started to attend. Parents comment on the very effective two-way flow of information that helps them to extend children's learning at home.
• The manager and staff encourage children to live healthy lives. Children enjoy freshly prepared, nutritious food every day, for example. Parents comment that this has a positive effect on children making healthy choices at home. Staff give children time to run, climb and enjoy physical challenges every day. Babies become increasingly mobile as they reach for toys and pull themselves up to explore enticing resources.
• Staff in the pre-school room plan a curriculum that helps children to build on what they already know. For example, small groups of older children are highly focused on drawing letters in the air with their fingers, saying the sounds as they draw. Staff skilfully extend the activity to provide a good level of challenge and children are confident in their early literacy skills. However, occasionally, staff in the baby and toddler rooms do not plan what they want children to learn next precisely enough to challenge them and build on their knowledge and skills further.
• Children develop good communication and language skills during their time at the nursery. This is particularly evident in the pre-school room where staff focus on encouraging listening skills and regular conversation.
• Staff promptly notice any gaps in children's development. The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) provides strong support to ensure that plans are put into place to give children the extra help when they need it. This includes working in effective partnership with other professionals. This helps all children to make good progress.
• There are strong partnerships with schools to support children with the next stage in their learning. For example, the manager invites teachers from local schools to come into the nursery to meet children so they move on confidently and with self-assurance.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff working with babies and toddlers to plan and deliver experiences that build on what children already know and can do, to consolidate and extend their learning further.