Kiddies Cove Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children demonstrate that they are happy and settled in this welcoming nursery. Staff greet children in the morning, and children reflect how happy and excited they are to see them. Staff talk in detail with parents each day, and this helps staff to find out more about children's interests so they can support these effectively at nursery.

Staff plan a curriculum that supports children's ongoing learning and development and matches their interests. As a result, children demonstrate positive attitudes to their learning and are engaged in the activities on offer. For example, children become deeply engrossed testing their perseverance skills with puzzles and building blocks. They show good levels of concentration and enjoyment as they stack blocks to create towers. This promotes children's creativity and early mathematical learning, and it gives them a strong sense of pride in their achievements. Babies and toddlers enjoy a good balance between adult-led activities and those they choose for themselves. They have opportunities to explore sensory play, such as pouring and scooping rice into cups, and they enjoy the feel and crackling sound of filled water bottles. They squeeze and touch the different materials and show curiosity in their play. This engages them in new experiences and helps to strengthen their small-muscle development effectively.

Staff have high expectations of children's behaviour and instil good manners. For instance, they remind children to say 'please' and 'thank you', share resources and wait their turn. Furthermore, staff help children to understand their own emotions through targeted group activities. This encourages children to behave well and to be kind towards each other.

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

• Staff ensure that children have many opportunities to take part in physical activities. For instance, they play in the nursery garden using ride-on and balancing toys. Younger children show utter delight as they watch bubbles fly into the sky. They excitedly try to pop the bubbles and chase them around the garden. All children benefit from fresh air and physical activities throughout the day, which ensures their need for exercise is consistently met.
• Staff have high aspirations to promote children's literacy, and speech and language development. They engage children in the stories they read to them and ask them questions to challenge their thinking. Additionally, staff encourage children to contribute with their own ideas to further support their developing communication skills. Children relish the praise they continually receive from staff and thoroughly enjoy taking part in group sessions.
• All children are supported by attentive staff to learn independence skills from an early age. Babies are beginning to feed themselves at snack time and drink independently from their cups. Staff have introduced secure routines during mealtimes. For example, older children wait until everyone sits down at the table. They clear their plates after their meal and put food waste into the bin. This helps children to become independent learners and successfully prepares them for the next stage in their development.
• Overall, experienced staff are very knowledgeable and understand how to support children's individual needs to extend their learning. However, very occasionally, less experienced staff have not fully considered the ages and stages of development of the children during adult-led activities. For instance, some of the concepts being taught are too difficult, and not all children have had prior experiences with the topics they are asked to engage in. This means that some children cannot contribute their own ideas to further extend their learning. As a result, the intended learning does not consistently take place for all children.
• All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make good progress. Leaders work closely with parents and other professionals to rapidly identify additional needs and devise and implement extensive plans so that children receive any support they need.
• Staff report that they feel well supported by leaders and the manager, who is also the provider. Regular supervision sessions and team meetings help staff to feel valued and content in their role. Staff work well together in their own rooms and across the nursery. This helps to promote consistency and supports children's transition as they move up to the next room.
• Parents speak positively about the staff at the nursery. They report that their children have made good progress, in particular with their speech and language development and their social skills. Staff work in partnership with parents to provide continuity in children's care routines and share information about their children's individual achievements.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• improve the support and training for newer and less experienced staff so that teaching is consistently good and matched to children's abilities so that curriculum intentions are relevant for every child.