Little Rainbows' Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and enjoy their time at this warm, nurturing and inclusive nursery. They enjoy spending time with staff and their peers. Staff know and value every child. They provide children with plenty of cuddles and stay close to those children that may need reassurance. Children demonstrate that they feel safe and secure.

Staff plan activities that interest and motivate children into learning. Babies and toddlers have daily opportunities to engage in messy play, including sand and water. Toddlers mash up strawberries into paint and make marks on their paper. These experiences help to strengthen children's small-muscle movements. Children enjoy the wide range of activities available to them, both indoors and outdoors. Children develop positive attitudes to their learning and achieve well.

Staff and children are kind, patient and considerate of each other. Staff set clear expectations for children's behaviour and routines. With guidance from staff, children begin to understand their feelings and emotions and develop resilience. Staff prepare children for the next steps in their development and eventual move on to school. Parents and carers state that they feel valued as an integral part of their children's learning journey.

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

• Staff know the children well. They gather detailed information from parents to establish what each child can already do when they start. Staff have a good understanding of where children are up to in their development. Children make good progress from their starting points.
• Staff follow and use children's interests to engage them in the curriculum. Leaders have mapped out an ambitious range of experiences that aim to build on children's knowledge, understanding and skills. Children learn well overall. That said, staff do not fully consider how to deepen children's current knowledge and understanding during play and activities. At times, they do not focus sharply on the small steps of knowledge, skills and vocabulary that children need to acquire before they build further on their learning.
• Children develop an appreciation for books, which are freely available throughout the environment. Children are surrounded by stories and books. They spend time looking at books independently and learn how to turn pages by themselves. Staff sing songs and share rhymes frequently, both during adult-led activities and when children are at play. Children enjoy story time sessions immensely. This helps to extend their communication skills.
• Staff manage the care of babies well. They implement flexible routines that mirror those from home and consistently share positive interactions with babies.
• For example, staff keep eye contact, talk and sing while changing babies' nappies. The strong key-person system builds close relationships with babies and parents as soon as they are registered at the setting.
• Staff promote children's physical development well. Children show good control as they climb and balance on the outdoor play equipment. This helps to develop children's physical dexterity and builds on their awareness of space.
• Staff skilfully develop children's independence and resilience, encouraging them to do things for themselves when they are ready. For example, at lunchtime, adults guide children to get their own drink of water and babies are closely monitored as they begin to feed themselves. This helps to prepare children for the next stage in their learning and key events, such as going to primary school.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported well. They make good progress from their starting points. Children's needs are identified quickly and appropriate support is put in place. Children with SEND are fully included and access all aspects of the provision alongside their peers. Staff work with external agencies to ensure that individual needs are met. They provide additional, targeted support to individuals and groups, such as sharing sensory stories.
• Children are kind and friendly. They behave well and understand their daily routine. They happily follow tasks and take turns. For instance, children know to tidy away and wash their hands throughout the day. Staff encourage children to recycle and make healthy food choices. Over time, this consistent approach helps children to become increasingly independent, value resources and care for each other.
• Parents are complimentary about the staff team. They praise the staff for being flexible as they help to settle children into nursery life. Parents are grateful for the updates they receive about children's development. They value the ideas that staff provide that help them to contribute to their child's learning at home. This helps to promote a consistent approach to children's learning and supports effective partnerships with parents.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to enhance their understanding of how best to sequence children's learning so that it can be built upon even more precisely.