Little Raye's Daycare

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Babies and children are happy in the nursery. They show that they feel safe and secure. Children have secure bonds with staff and are confident to approach them for cuddles when they need to. Children's emotional well-being is supported successfully. When children are sad or upset, staff are kind and gentle and spend time with them until they are settled.

Babies and children acquire a range of skills that they need for the next stage of their learning. For example, young children strengthen their fine motor skills while making fruit kebabs, and babies develop their gross motor skills in the garden. Babies and children play and explore independently and follow their interests. For instance, children play freely in the mud kitchen and create drawings using their imagination. Children with additional needs are well supported and regularly receive individual help from staff when they need it.

Babies and children are well behaved. Staff encourage children to behave well and teach them clear boundaries. Staff ask children to use 'kind hands' when they are playing, so that they do not hurt their friends. Children learn about how to keep themselves safe. For instance, staff ask children to sit on their chairs so that they do not fall over.

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

• The manager is motivated and enthusiastic. She has high expectations for the children in her care. Staff use observations and assessments effectively to ensure that all children make good progress. They build on children's individual knowledge and interests when they plan activities. For instance, babies explore frozen berries, using their senses.
• Staff support children who speak English as an additional language very well. They speak a variety of languages, including Tamil, French, Romanian and Bengali. Staff find out key words that children use in their home language and use these at the nursery to help them feel at home. They use flash cards and a visual timetable to support children who are learning learning English. Key words in different languages are displayed in the nursery for all staff to use. This supports children's confidence and self-esteem and helps them to make good progress when learning English.
• Staff help babies and young children to develop their language skills through the use of songs, stories and pictures. They use good questioning skills to help all children to make progress in communication and language.
• Young children are creative and use their imagination during role play. Staff model 'cooking' in the kitchen and introduce new words during children's play. Children persist when using resources indoors and outdoors. For example, adults praise children when they stand on their tiptoes and stretch so that they can join in with a game.
• Babies develop their self-help skills ready for the next stage of learning. They wipe their hands and mouths before snack time, and they learn how to put their coats on before going outside. Young children feed themselves and cut up their snack. However, they are not consistently supported to fully develop their self-help skills. For instance, staff help some children to take off their coats and shoes after playtime rather than let them to try for themselves.
• Young children are generally well focused and engaged during adult-led activities. For instance, they shake their instruments with glee during circle time and explore a variety of fresh fruit. However, occasionally, staff do not plan effectively to ensure that children remain focused and engaged throughout activities. For example, some young children lose interest when a story is too long for them.
• Staff have strong partnerships with parents. Parents praise how well staff look after their children and say that they find staff caring and approachable. Staff communicate effectively with parents through a variety of ways. They use an online system to keep parents up to date with their child's care practices and learning needs. Staff collect information from parents when their children first join the nursery and have online meetings about their children's progress. This helps parents to support children's learning at home.
• Staff are well supported by the manager and the provider. The manager regularly provides staff with supervision sessions and staff meetings to reflect on their practice.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• use all opportunities to develop young children's self-help skills
• plan adult-led activities more carefully so that young children remain focused and engaged throughout.