Little Monsters Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provider has made good improvements to provide quality care and education for all.

Children are confident and happy in the setting. Staff build and develop strong bonds. They provide the care and nurture children need to feel a strong sense of belonging. Children enjoy cuddles and seek to join their favourite adults in play.

Staff plan a range of engaging and interesting activities for the children. They reflect on how children have interacted with, and enjoyed, these. They use assessment and observation well. This helps them to ensure that children are making good progress. Staff talk to children about previous experiences and activities, to reinforce their learning. They successfully support children to build on what they know and this gives them the confidence to master new skills.' Staff talk to children about prior learning and experiences. Through doing this, children master their skills and knowledge, building on their next steps in learning.

Young babies develop good physical skills. They explore a well-planned and well-designed space. They practise their skills of balance, early walking, and crawling. Older children are learning to follow the simple instructions of a recipe to make dough. They engage and focus on the task, and they are keen to take turns and share resources to create the dough together.

Staff interact and help children manage risk as they explore a range of apparatus outside. Children grow in confidence through the encouragement and praise of staff. As they climb, balance, and slide, they show pride in their achievements.

Children show positive attitudes to their learning and behaviour. Staff model positive and caring interactions that support children to know and understand their actions have an impact on others.

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

• The manager and staff have a clear and ambitious vision for what they want children to learn. Through effective assessment they are prompt to identify gaps in learning and provide the support and targeted approach children need to make the progress they are capable of. For example, the recently appointed special educational needs and/or disabilities coordinator works with staff, parents and children to plan and provide activities to support children in their unique next steps in learning.
• The manager has placed a focus on supporting staff and their professional development. Through training and regular meetings she has worked with the team to identify areas for development. She has provided the coaching and guidance needed for staff to fully understand what it is they are teaching and how young children learn.
• Parent partnerships are strong. Staff have open and detailed conversations with parents about their child's learning and next steps. Parents know how they can help and support their child's learning at home. They speak highly of the staff and make reference to the nurturing environment staff have created for the children and the wider family.
• Children's communication and language skills are generally supported well. Staff plan group time activities where children engage in stories, songs and rhymes. These activities are sequenced to support children's language as they progress through the nursery. Children and focus engage well during these adult led activities. However, staff are not fully consistent in building on children's interests to promoting these skills during child-led play. This does not reinforce the work staff do to help children develop conversational skills.
• Children show positive attitudes towards their behaviour and their learning. Staff are polite and offer a calm approach when talking to the children or explaining and activity. They give lots of praise and encouragement to children. They target their praise to individual children, highlighting what they are giving praise and celebrating children achievements. Children see this and enjoy offering the same encouragement and praise to their friends.
• Staff understand what makes children unique and know their preferences. They support children to express their feelings and emotions. For example, staff engage children in dance activities to express themselves. Children join in at a level they are comfortable with and staff support those who are shy and like to watch at first. Children learn to know what makes them unique and to value the differences between them and their friends.
• Staff teach the children about healthy lifestyles. Children have a vegetable patch and children learn what they need for the vegetables to grow. Children learn about where our food comes from. For example, children talk about where flour comes from and the kinds of foods they can make from it, such as cakes and bread. Staff provide the teaching to extend their learning on how the food comes from the farm into the shops.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance interactions to offer a more consistent approach to supporting children's communication and language development.