Little Robins Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are highly engaged as they play in this home-from-home environment that feels cosy and comfortable. They have plenty of opportunities to experience exciting sensory play. For example, babies focus intently as they explore the shiny metal everyday items in the treasure basket. They fill and empty containers at the sand tray.

Toddlers snuggle up with a member of staff and enjoy a story. They listen intently to the story and, when asked, they identify the correct colour and number of objects. They make sounds on the panpipes and sing familiar songs to themselves as they play.

Pre-school children vigorously use the small hammers to chip away at the ice to release the flowers frozen inside. They wet teabags and watch as they change colour and pull them apart and explore the contents. They become 'potion makers' as they play in the mud kitchen area outdoors.

Staff have high expectations for the children and skilfully support them to follow the rules. Children behave well and show a high regard for one another. They are confident and happy, and enthusiastically interact with staff and visitors.

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

• Staff provide an environment that is highly focused on encouraging children to be curious and imaginative, and to explore through their senses and solve problems. They provide children with relaxing home-living areas with soft lighting and real-life items. Children explore natural and recycled materials and freely move the resources around the room to extend their ideas. The management team ensures that the learning programme successfully promotes children's development across all areas of their learning. However, there are few opportunities for children to gain an awareness of how they differ from, or are similar to, other people.
• The outdoor play area offers children inspiring activities that encourage them to take manageable risks and experience challenge in their play. For example, children climb on the logs to get into the fixed life-size boat. They build and construct with the various sizes of empty wooden wire reels, tyres, planks of wood, crates and guttering. This allows them to manipulate their outdoor environment, creating opportunities for imaginative play and problem-solving. Staff use the six-seated pushcart to take children on walks around the local community, such as trips to the hospital to see the ambulances.
• Parents comment on how much they value the secure online learning journal. This enables parents to read about their child's experiences and development and helps them to support their child's learning at home. Parents also comment on how their children are well looked after and nurtured by staff. The manager, who is also the cook, provides children with nutritious and well-balanced home-made meals and snacks.
• The management team analyses the progress of individual and specific groups of children. They identify any gaps in children's learning and put plans in place to address these. The special educational needs coordinator liaises with external agencies to identify, monitor and secure any additional support that children need.
• The management team make sure that staff receive regular individual support meetings where they can discuss any concerns and their well-being. They make sure that each member of staff's practice is monitored and any training needs are identified and planned for. This helps to make sure that staff are happy in their work and improve the knowledge and skills they need to effectively teach children. However, staff do not focus strongly enough on widening older children's vocabulary and their understanding of the letters of the alphabet.
• The management team receive support from the local authority adviser and undertake relevant training and research on the internet. This helps them to make sure that they are constantly updated with new legislation and national and local initiatives. They use this information to reflect on their practice and improve the overall quality of the setting.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• provide children with more opportunities to build on their respect for, and understanding of, the similarities and differences between themselves and others in the wider community
• enrich opportunities that encourage older children to enhance their vocabulary and their understanding of the letters of the alphabet.