Lollipops Nursery & Creche

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and settled at this clean and organised nursery. They form secure relationships with the caring staff team who know them well. All children make good progress from their starting points because staff plan an ambitious curriculum inspired by children's interests and learning styles.

Children are eager to play and motivated to learn. They move freely around the well-resourced learning environment and make independent choices about their play. Children use good manners. Staff remind them to be polite and say 'please' and 'thank you'. Pre-school children develop good memory and observational skills. Staff encourage them to recall the toys placed on a tray before covering them. Children learn to link letters and sounds. They confidently announce 's is for snake'. Staff help young children to develop strength in their hands in readiness for early writing. They demonstrate how to use large tweezers, encouraging young children to use them to pick up grains of rice. Staff effectively support babies emotional well-being. Babies confidently climb onto staffs' lap and snuggle in for a cuddle. Staff provide children with daily opportunities for fresh air and exercise. Children confidently ride on wheeled toys and climb on small apparatus. Babies develop core strength because staff encourage them to lay on their tummies as they play.

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

• The provider is dedicated to her role. She has a clear and ambitious vision which she shares with her loyal staff team. Together, they strive to provide all children with high-quality care and education. Action plans are developed with room leaders to drive continuous improvements
• The provider knows staff well because she works closely with them each day. She supports them to continue with their professional development and ensures all staff keep their mandatory training, such as safeguarding and paediatric first aid up to date. However, the provider does not always provide staff with regular supervision meetings to help them receive targeted training to improve their personal effectiveness. That said, staff are happy in their roles. They comment on the high levels of support they receive from the provider, both in their professional capacity and their personal life.
• Children engage in a good range of play activities throughout the day. For example, they excitedly join in with songs and rhymes and develop mathematical knowledge as they carefully fill and empty porcelain cups with sand. However, staff do not consistently provide the youngest children with a wide enough range of experiences to fully support their curiosity and investigative skills.
• On the whole children sleep peacefully in comfortable surroundings. They use individual bedding which is washed each day. Staff follow safer sleeping principles and regularly check on children to ensure they are safe and well. However, sometimes the youngest children's sleep is disrupted because staff do not take into account how close the youngest children's cots are to areas where other babies are playing or having their care needs met.
• Staff quickly recognise when children are not meeting their expected developmental milestones. They work closely with parents and other professionals to create personalised support plans that help bridge any gaps in their learning and achieve the best possible progress.
• Effective care and hygiene practice supports children's good health. Staff remind children to wash their hands at regular intervals throughout the day. They gently attend to children's personal care.
• The nursery has a healthy eating policy which is shared with parents on induction. Parents either provide their children with a packed lunch or choose a nutritious cooked meal prepared by the onsite cook. During mealtimes, staff sit with the children to encourage them to eat their vegetables and fruit. They explain that this helps them to grow big and strong.
• The key person system is effective. They develop secure relationships with children and their families from the outset. Staff share information with parents about children's time at the nursery in a range of ways. For example, through daily discussions, diaries and online learning records. Parents are very happy with the care and education their children receive. They comment on the high levels of progress their children make and the wonderful relationships staff have with children.
• Staff have high expectations for all children's behaviour. They kindly remind children of the nursery's age appropriate rules throughout the day. For example, to use kind hands and to share and take turns.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• provide all staff with regular supervision meetings to precisely identify training needs to help improve their personal effectiveness
• support baby room staff to enhance the experiences they provide to fully support the youngest children to develop their curiosity and investigative skills
• review the sleeping arrangements in the baby room to help babies sleep more soundly and peacefully.