Lydstep Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive at this busy nursery happy and ready to learn. Staff greet children warmly in each age room and help them settle into activities and play. Children benefit from the strong bonds they are building with staff who know them well. Staff use children's interests to engage them in play and activities that helps children continue learning effectively.

Babies use their senses as they explore different textures. They touch sand as they fill and empty containers, listen to sounds as they play with the percussion instruments and see different colours as staff help them explore what happens as they push at the paint in see-through plastic wallets on the floor.

Toddlers have fun joining in familiar rhymes and songs. Staff use props to help them recall which song they will sing next. Older children also recall previous learning as they get ready to go out to the nearby park. They remember that they need to stay where staff can see and hear them. They know to hold hands and wait to check the roads before crossing. They tell staff that they must not speak to people they do not know. Staff are helping children to keep themselves safe and are preparing them for moving on into school, and the wider world.

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

• Leaders employ confident, capable room leaders for the different age groups of children at the nursery. The room leaders plan and support the implementation of curriculums within their rooms that meet children's needs well. Room leaders help other staff to tailor practice to meet the changing interests of the children to build on what children already know and can do. However, systems are yet to fully join up across the nursery. For example, not all staff have done training to use signs as well as words to support communication consistently. Other systems such as picture boards and cues to help children understand changes in the routine do not happen in each room as there are resources missing.
• Babies and toddlers learn new words as they join in with group times to identify and recall different objects hidden in a box. Staff capture children's interests as they tap the box and repeat a short rhyme. Children watch eagerly to see what will come out of the box. Some can identify the different objects and receive warm praise from staff. Staff make sure they repeat the name of the object and encourage children to copy it too. Sometimes they sing a rhyme connected to the object and children sing along or copy actions. Children are building their vocabulary and communication skills well.
• Staff working with the preschool children have identified core books to spark interest and discussions to support children's literacy even further. For example, children recall what they remember from the story 'A squash and a squeeze'.
• They design their own story boards to copy the sequence of events in the book. Staff read the story to children enthusiastically, stopping to ask questions to see if children can remember what happens next. They provide new words as children note that the cockerel in the story has different feet from them, explaining that the cockerel has claws.
• Staff make use of the two outdoor spaces at the nursery. Babies have an outdoor terrace that has low level climbing equipment for them to practice their physical skills. Toddlers and pre-school children have an enclosed outdoor area in the middle of the building that they use. However, as these areas are small only a few children can use them at a time. Staff make sure all children get the chance to play outdoors. However, they do not plan for children's learning as well out here.
• Children learn about the wider world. Staff take them on outings regularly. Babies love visiting the nearby farm park where they can see different animals. Toddlers and preschool children frequently visit the local park where they can use the larger play equipment. Staff are finding other places to visit such as the library and nearby old peoples home to help children learn more about the community where they live.
• Children behave well. Staff support children to share well. They talk with older children about taking turns with toys. They provide sound signals for children when it is time to put the toys away. Children are starting to understand how to cooperate with others and to care for their play spaces.
• Partnership with parents is good. Parents comment that staff provide them with plenty information about what their children are doing and learning. When staff identify gaps in development they talk with parents and other professionals to seek support to help children make good progress. All children including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities learn and develop well.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• make sure that staff plan effectively for children so they continue to build on what they know and can do when playing and learning outdoors
• improve oversight of practitioners' knowledge to build consistency of practice to further enhance children's learning and development.