Learn And Play Childcare Limited

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are warmly welcomed into the nursery by staff who recognise and value their uniqueness. Staff get to know children well. They build strong and trusting bonds to help children to feel safe and secure. Staff place a strong focus on children's personal, social and emotional development. They understand the importance of this for children from the start. Children learn how to recognise and respect the differing needs of their peers. Where children need additional help with sharing and turn-taking, staff sensitively offer support. They praise children as they listen to their friends and take turns with favourite toys. Children behave well.

Staff have high expectations for all children. They plan and create play experiences that motivate children to learn. For instance, staff ignite children's curiosity to create colours as they excitedly notice what happens when they mix red and blue paints. Children develop good mathematical skills. Staff use daily activities to embed this area of learning well. For instance, older children count how many of their friends are in the line as they return from playing outdoors. Younger children confidently recognise shapes. They show sustained concentration as they build towers. Children count the bricks they use and match numbers. This helps them to develop good knowledge of some mathematical concepts. All children make good progress from their starting points in development.

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

• Staff sequence the curriculum for communication and language effectively, including for children who speak English as an additional language. They create an environment rich in language. Staff use songs, stories and conversations to build children's vocabularies. Children develop confidence in speaking and use language to describe what they are doing.
• Leaders recognise how to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They ensure that all staff know the strategies in place, such as visual timetables. Staff work closely with professionals, including local authority advisers, to implement collaborative plans. This provides children with a consistent approach to their learning.
• Partnership working is a key strength. Parents and carers report how well staff know their children and how welcome they feel, with some describing the nursery as 'like family'. Staff build on these relationships by providing information and activity suggestions to support children's learning at home. Partnerships with local schools are equally effective, helping children to transition confidently to school.
• Leaders have a robust recruitment process to ensure that children are cared for by staff suitable for their role. They regularly evaluate and monitor the policies in place to ensure children's safety. Leaders observe staff's practice. They support staff through supervision session and training opportunities. This helps staff to build on their already good knowledge of how children learn to improve outcomes for children.
• Staff support children's independence. Children complete small tasks for themselves, such as hanging up their belongings and managing their own self-care. They show proficiency in serving fruit and pouring drinks at snack times. Children know the routines and happily clear away their own used plates and cups.
• Leaders and staff provide rich opportunities for children's physical development, indoors and outdoors. Children have access to the large and nurturing outdoor area. They make 'soup' in the mud kitchen and confidently ride tricycles and scooters. Children build strength, control and confidence in their movements.
• Staff promote life in modern Britain. Children explore diverse cultures, events and celebrations. They recognise similarities and differences through discussions and activities. Staff ensure that positive images of people worldwide and with differing abilities appear in books, pictures and resources. Children respect differences and develop cultural awareness.
• Overall, staff promote children's good health effectively. They understand and meet children's dietary requirements. For example, they provide children with freshly prepared meals and snacks that are tailored to their individual dietary needs. Staff actively encourage children to understand the benefits of eating foods that are good for their bodies.
• Staff follow the nursery's hygiene policies and procedures, such as reminding children to wash their hands before eating. However, during cooking activities, staff do not consistently build on these strong foundations by reinforcing high hygiene expectations in a positive and age-appropriate way. For instance, when baking biscuits, children sometimes re-use utensils after dropping or licking them. Staff do not always address this in the moment to develop children's understanding of healthy habits.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• embed the good hygiene routines already in place across all activities, including cooking, and support staff to give children clear and age-appropriate guidance on healthy habits.