Lancing Day Nursery & Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children work together and cooperate exceptionally well. For instance, they help each other to carry heavy boxes of construction bricks without any adults prompting them. Children are thrilled to take responsibility for tasks such as setting the table for lunch and serving each other. They become extremely confident in completing jobs independently, and this results in children having excellent self-esteem.

Children feel safe and secure at the nursery. They engage in a broad range of activities that staff have planned carefully. They know the children very well and can successfully plan around their needs and interests. Children are encouraged to use their senses during everyday activities. For example, on a walk to the beach, children were encouraged to stop and listen to a railway crossing signal. They were prompted to wonder what the noise might mean. This helps children to develop their thinking skills.

Children are regularly asked for their views about the daily activities and experiences. Their views are considered, and staff change what they do and how the nursery is set up. For example, some children said they did not enjoy the activities in the garden. They suggested that staff put real vegetables in the role-play area outside. This change was made and, consequently, they and other children have spent more time developing their imaginative skills outside. This has a remarkable effect on children's behaviour and self-esteem, and they begin to learn about democracy and respect.

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

• Children show excellent attitudes to learning. They delight in talking to each other and to the adults. Staff are expertly attuned to children's language, ask questions and give children time to think and respond. This has an outstanding impact on children's speech and language development.
• The nursery environment is calm and inviting. All staff are extremely warm, nurturing and inspiring. They excite children by using their voice to increase children's anticipation. For example, babies delight when staff squeal or whisper as they pull scarves from their pockets for children to dance with.
• Staff have a secure understanding of the children and most of the skills and knowledge they want the children to learn. This is particularly strong regarding children's communication and social skills. However, staff are not as clear about what they want children to learn in some other areas of learning. For example, they are uncertain about the learning aims of activities and resources available to support children's early literacy skills.
• Leaders support staff well with all aspects of working at the nursery. They offer a comprehensive induction and ongoing training to support staff to understand their roles and responsibilities. Staff describe how leaders consider and celebrate their achievements, which supports their well-being.
• The special educational needs coordinator works well with staff and families. Key persons are equipped with strategies to help children catch up to reach their full potential. For example, staff understand that some children need longer to process instructions or gentle reminders to help them wait their turn. Staff skilfully adapt their communication and expectations to enable children to join in and contribute. This ensures that children with identified delays in their learning make good progress.
• Staff make good use of the local area to inspire children and develop their understanding of the world. They take groups of children to the local beach to explore different textures. Children are also supported to learn about the mathematical concepts of big and small by putting pebbles into bottles. They are encouraged to describe if a pebble is 'too big' or the right size to fit in the top of the bottle.
• Leaders encourage staff to be reflective about how children explore the setting and how to support their development. There are regular staff meetings where staff are given time to discuss their key children and adapt systems and activities to improve outcomes for children.
• Parents speak positively about the nursery, and staff share some information with parents on a day-to-day basis. Some parents value the online communication. However, staff do not ensure that all parents are fully informed about what their children are learning and how they could support this at home.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• build on parent partnerships to make sure that all parents are aware of their child's progress and how they can support them with their learning at home
• strengthen staff's understanding of the curriculum for early literacy and how to support children further to gain age-appropriate skills and knowledge.