Little Achievers Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and safe in the nursery. They are warmly welcomed by caring staff who know them well. Children understand the routines of the day, which helps them to settle quickly. Children listen to staff, follow instructions and behave well. They learn to take turns with their peers. For example, children wait their turn to cut up their fruit at snack time. Children are helpful towards their friends as they fasten each other's coats ready for outdoor play.

Children make their own choices about the activities they want to engage in. Young children enjoy playing with their friends in the sandpit. Older children spontaneously go on bug hunts, using magnifying glasses and pots to examine what they find. Staff skilfully engage children in learning. They take time to learn about children's interests and use these to support their development. For example, when children like particular stories and characters, staff add themes to the environment to create areas of interest. This helps to keep children motivated in their learning.

Children are engaged in their work and play. They confidently remember what they have been taught. For example, they talk about the seeds in their apples and suggest that they could plant these in the nursery garden to grow a tree.

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

• Children are well prepared for the next stage of learning. For example, pre-school children visit the local school to attend assemblies, which helps them to become familiar with their new environment. Staff also prepare children well by ensuring they have the skills they need, such as confidence and a can-do attitude. This enables children to have a smooth transition and be emotionally ready for the move.
• Staff encourage children to eat healthily. Parents also receive information from the nursery to support healthy food choices. Staff also encourage children to select the healthier options in their lunch boxes. This supports children to understand how to make healthy food choices.
• Children are provided with plenty of opportunities to practise their physical skills. They run around outside and improve their coordination as they balance on the climbing equipment and ride wheeled vehicles. In addition, children attend regular swimming lessons to support their water confidence and physical exercise. This also helps to build their stamina.
• Staff build strong relationships with families. They share information on a daily basis, both verbally and through an online system. Parents comment that the nursery is like 'one big family'. They know how their children are progressing and feel well informed about events at the nursery. Managers provide home- learning packs so parents can support children's learning at home.
• As children play, some staff introduce new and interesting words to extend children's language skills. For example, children learn the word 'detective' as they take part in a bug hunt. However, this practice is not consistently implemented to ensure that all children's vocabulary skills are extended even further. For example, staff do not always teach children the names of objects that they are playing with, such as petri-dish and magnifying glass. Furthermore, staff often ask children questions that require only one-word responses and, at times, they respond for them. This does not then give children the opportunity to think critically.
• At times, children have some opportunities to develop their independence. However, this is not promoted as well as it could be. For example, staff are eager to help children to wash their hands and put on their coats. Furthermore, staff build towers with bricks for children rather than encouraging them to do it for themselves. This means that not all children's independence skills are consistently supported.
• Staff become engaged in children's play. They know the children well and recognise what they need to learn next. However, on some occasions, the manager's intended curriculum is not always implemented by staff. For example, staff focus less well on the needs of children as a group. This means that they are not always clear about what they want children to learn during group activities.
• Managers are aware of their strengths and areas for improvement. They have a clear ambition about their curriculum approach. However, this is in the early stages and is not fully embedded.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• improve staff knowledge and practice of how children learn language so that children can build on their vocabulary
• provide opportunities to encourage children's independence
• support staff to have a clearer understanding of the curriculum intent, so that their teaching consistently focuses on what they want children to learn.