Little Toes Day Nursery Bottesford

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff seek a range of information from parents when children first start at the nursery. They use this information purposefully to foster early attachments and ensure that individual children's care needs are met. As they arrive at the nursery, babies smile when they see familiar staff and put their arms out to them. Toddlers and pre-school children wave goodbye to the parents at the main door and engage in conversations with the staff as they walk to their room. Children demonstrate that they feel happy, safe and secure at the nursery.

Children of all ages are developing an understanding of healthy lifestyles. They spend much of their day playing outside. Toddlers and pre-school children develop their large-muscle skills, balance and coordination as they use climbing and balancing equipment at the park. Staff closely supervise children and recognise when they may need support and encourage them to overcome difficulties. They help children problem solve and identify where to place their feet to climb down safely from the top of a climbing frame. Staff teach children new skills by modelling how to kick their legs forwards and backwards to make a swing move. Children copy these actions and take pride in making a swing move for themselves. Babies have fun playing in the nursery garden, they delight at finding puddles to splash in, laughing as they stamp their feet in the water.

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

• The staff have worked hard to embed a curriculum that supports children to feel secure and develop curiosity and confidence to safely explore their environment. Staff use information from observations of children to plan for their individual next steps in development. They provide activities that help children build on what they already know and can do. Staff promptly recognise the signs that children may need additional help. They work alongside parents and other professionals where gaps in children's learning and development are identified, to implement targeted support.
• Staff provide children with a range of opportunities to learn about the village they live in and their local community. They take children on regular trips to the library, park and allotment. Photos of the children and their families are displayed within the nursery. Children take pleasure in looking at the photos and talking to staff about them. Staff use these opportunities well to support children's understanding about their individuality and differences.
• Staff provide role play that allows children to use their imagination as well as re-enact their life experiences. Children are highly engaged as they play alongside each other, pretending to cook dinner, wash pots and go shopping. Staff support children to share and take turns with toys and equipment. However, staff are not consistent in how they respond to children who display unwanted behaviour.
• This means that children do not always understand why they cannot do things and, consequently, despite being told 'no' or 'stop' they continue to display the behaviour.
• Staff support children's growing independence. They encourage babies to drink out of open top cups. Toddlers and pre-school children learn to pour their own drinks and serve their own meals. However, the routine at mealtimes is chaotic. This means that staff do not always ensure that the needs of all children are being swiftly met. For example, at dinner time staff concentrate on supporting babies to feed, which results in older children sitting waiting for a period of time unable to finish eating their meal, as they cannot cut up their own food.
• Robust recruitment procedures are in place to ensure that all staff employed to work with children are suitable to do so. New staff complete a thorough induction when they start at the setting to help ensure that they understand how to fulfil their role and responsibilities. All staff have regular supervision and receive feedback on their practice. Staff comment that they feel well supported in their roles.
• Staff have developed good relationships with parents. They ensure that parents receive regular updates about their child's development and achievements. Key staff work closely with parents to encourage them to extend their children's learning at home. Parents comment that their children enjoy attending the nursery. They describe the staff as kind and caring.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to be consistent in the implementation of behaviour management strategies
• enhance the implementation of mealtime routines so that the needs of all children are met.