Little Dragon's Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are keen to enter this welcoming environment. Staff greet parents and children warmly and are keen to hear what children have to say to them. Relationships between children and staff are strong, and children settle quickly and easily into the nursery day. Staff know children well. They plan activities and learning experiences, inside and outside, that take account of children's stages of development and build on their interests. Activities are attractively displayed, sparking children's interest and curiosity. Babies delight in splashing in water. Staff encourage them to bathe the dolls and they use lots of repetition of words such as 'pour', 'wash' and 'splash' as they do so. Toddlers enjoy playing with the animals and pretend to feed them with play dough, while older children enjoy preparing play food to share with staff and their friends.

Staff are positive role models. They speak gently and calmly to children and recognise their efforts and achievement. Staff build children's confidence and self-esteem through giving them praise and encouragement. Children are keen to share what they have been doing and show pride in their work. Children are encouraged to share how they are feeling, and staff use resources, such as books, to help children to start to understand their emotions. Older children confidently explain the values that are in place in nursery. These include looking after everything and everyone, not hurting each other, and listening to each other.

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

• Leaders and staff are committed to continually developing staff's skills and the practice in the nursery to ensure that children remain safe and secure and are continually making the best progress they can. Leadership know their staff well and recognise the skills that they have. Ongoing monitoring of staff's practice enables leaders to identify training needs. Regular meetings as a team and individually mean that staff can share good practice and new ideas. Staff speak positively about the support and guidance they receive.
• Children make informed choices about their play because staff explain what activities are planned each day. Overall, children are engaged and motivated to learn. However, at times, staff do not consider the differing ages and abilities of all of the children. In addition, during times of transition, such as lunchtime and before going outdoors, children lose focus because staff do not organise these times well enough. This minimises the level of engagement and progress children can make.
• Parents are happy with the provision and the service provided. They speak positively about the communication between nursery and home and comment that they speak to any staff and find them approachable and helpful. Parents feel informed and involved in their child's learning and enjoy hearing about their child's day. As well as daily conversations with staff, parents can also see the activities their child has been involved in, how they are progressing and ways that they can continue their child's learning at home through an online app. This helps to establish continuity of care.
• Practice for babies and the youngest children is particularly strong. Staff are very knowledgeable about how children learn and develop. They create a calm, nurturing environment where babies and young children thrive. Staff model language well. They consistently repeat simple words and phrases and encourage babies to babble. Activities are set at low levels to help children pull themselves up to standing. As a result, babies are beginning to develop core strength and take their first steps.
• Toddlers benefit from a wealth of activities to immerse them in learning. Staff place a strong focus on helping children to develop small-muscle skills. Children enjoy exploring trays of dried couscous or filling and emptying containers with water. They make marks with paint and brushes to enhance the skills they will need for writing later on in their learning.
• All children learn about their own safety, both in nursery and when outside. Older children work together to recreate their own forest school and a campfire. They collect traffic cones and place them around a small tyre that they have laid on the floor, stating that it is their 'campfire'. They carefully collect a variety of twigs, which they use to make the campfire and pretend food, such as kebabs. They confidently explain that when they are near the fire they have to kneel on one knee. This is to make sure that they do not wobble into the fire and, if needed, can move away quickly so they do not get burnt.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported well. Staff use their observations and assessments of children's abilities to identify possible gaps in learning. Leaders work with staff and parents to ensure that children receive appropriate support to enable them to make progress from their individual starting points.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• plan and differentiate activities more effectively to help children make the best possible progress
• review times of transition to help increase children's engagement.