Little Shipmates Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thoroughly enjoy their time at the nursery. They form meaningful relationships with staff, who care deeply about children's learning and welfare. This helps children feel safe and secure. Children make meaningful friendships. They are kind and considerate, and they enjoy learning together. For example, children role play in the mud kitchen. They create interesting mixtures as they contribute their ideas and take turns to add natural materials, such as grass. This helps children develop the skills they will need to maintain future relationships.

Children develop an early understanding of new concepts, such as mathematics. For example, children learn about measure, as they use rulers to compare heights of structures made from magnetic bricks. They develop their understanding of number as they count the items of food on their plate during mealtimes. Staff introduce older children to simple fractions, such as 'half' and 'quarter', as children slice fruit with knives. This helps them develop the skills they will need for future learning.

Staff use routine activities to help children develop their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. For example, Children fill plastic cones with sand and watch in fascination as the sand drains out of a hole in the bottom. Staff encourage children to think about what they might use to stop the flow of the sand. Children identify that pushing the end of a paintbrush into the cone slows or stops the flow, depending on the pressure they apply. This helps children develop good attitudes towards their learning.

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

• Staff develop a curriculum that is ambitious and prioritises what children need to become confident, resilient and independent learners. Staff demonstrate skill, as they deliver the curriculum with success. This reflects the quality of support, training and coaching they receive from managers. As a result, all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language, make consistent progress.
• Children develop a love of stories and rhymes. For example, they enjoy weekly trips to the library, which helps develop their vocabulary, as well as their interest in books. Staff make story times interesting and engaging, capturing children's interest. For instance, while reading a story about a hungry caterpillar, children re-enact the story using props. They name, discuss and count the items of food, as they follow the story and feed these to the toy caterpillar. This helps children develop their language skills as they make connections within their learning.
• Staff provide children with a daily routine that develops their understanding of 'now' and 'next'. This helps children feel secure, as they transition through most activities with ease. However, on occasion, mealtime routines within the baby room can become disorganised. This extends the time babies wait before they receive their meals. This has an impact on their behaviour, as they wander away from the table or throw their empty plates on the floor.
• Staff provide children with a range of opportunities to promote their independence. For example, babies learn to pull up their trousers after nappy changes. This helps them to develop the skills they will need in preparation for toilet training. During mealtimes, older children serve their own food, pour their own drinks and empty their own plates without prompt. This helps children develop the skills they will need for their next stage in learning.
• Children learn about similarities and differences, as they explore customs and celebrations from around the world. For example, children learn about Chinese New Year. They taste traditional Chinese cooking and learn about gifting, as they create red envelopes for people that are important to them. Staff create 'special books' for each child. These contain photos from home and nursery. Children enjoy looking through these with their friends, sharing their experiences. This helps children gain a sense of self and belonging.
• Children learn about the importance of oral health and engage in interesting activities. For example, children use toothbrushes and foam soap to clean large teeth models, practising the skills they need to keep their teeth healthy. However, staff do not always consider the appropriateness of resources, as children show an interest in tasting the pretend 'toothpaste'. This has an impact on the learning intent.
• Staff support children's physical development well. For example, children make pretend cakes out of play dough. They develop their hand strength, as they use rolling pins and squeeze the play dough into different shapes. Children strengthen their pincer grip, as they pick up tiny sprinkles and use pipettes to collect water. This helps children gain the necessary skills in preparation for future writing.
• Staff communicate regularly with parents, keeping them up to date with children's care and progress. They provide tips and advice on a range of subjects, such as toileting and bereavement, creating resources for parents and children to explore together at home. Parents have opportunities to discuss their children's progress in detail during parents' evenings. This helps to create consistency for children's learning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen the organisation of routine activities, such as mealtimes, to ensure that children's needs are met without delay
• support children to reach their fullest potential by ensuring that resources securely promote the learning intent of activities.