Magic Roundabout Nurseries Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff provide children with a warm and friendly welcome at the start of the day. They give them cuddles to help them confidently separate from their parents. Staff and parents share updates, which supports children's well-being. This helps children to settle quickly and feel safe and secure.

All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), benefit from the well-planned, ambitious curriculum. Staff follow children's interests and provide a broad range of fun and challenging activities to extend children's learning. The inside and outside environments allow children to make choices and build on their independence. Staff plan messy and sensory play, which fosters children's curiosity and exploration. For example, younger children make marks with coloured ice and toddlers use tongs to extend their fine motor skills as they pick up 'worms' from soil. Older children experiment with making slime and test their ideas as they fill balloons with the mixture. Staff engage extremely well as children play and provide good-quality interactions.

Staff role model expected behaviour and reinforce the rules. They use praise and encouragement. Overall, this supports children to behave well. Children listen to instructions and know the routine. Staff use Makaton and 'now and next' boards to support children's understanding. Children make good progress and show a positive attitude to their learning.

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

• The manager is enthusiastic and passionate to lead a team which is delivering high-quality learning experiences for all children. The manager has high expectations for all staff to understand their roles and benefit the children. Staff know the children well and build on their previous learning. They use observations, complete progress checks and identify next steps. All children make good progress from their starting points.
• Staff have a strong focus on developing children's communication and language skills. They actively engage as children play and initiate back-and-forth interactions. Staff babble with babies and support them to make animal noises. Toddlers enjoy singing and joining in with actions. Staff introduce new vocabulary and help children to increase their words and use extended sentences. Older children share stories and talk about their home experiences.
• Partnerships with parents are strong. Parents speak very highly of the nursery and the good progress their children are making, especially with their language development. Parents feel involved in their children's learning and say staff are kind and caring. Parents liaise with their children's key person and acknowledge the smooth transitions as children move between rooms.
• The nursery has embedded a culture of diversity and inclusion. There are many staff and children who are bilingual and bring a richness of their cultures to the setting. Children learn about a range of cultural and religious festivals and learn through stories and activities about different family situations. This helps children to gain an understanding of similarities and differences and what makes them unique.
• Children develop good hygiene skills and an understanding of healthy lifestyles. They wash their hands before meals and clean their teeth after lunch. Safeguards are in place to ensure that all food preferences and allergies are adhered to. Staff support children to practise their physical skills. For example, children balance on logs and ride bikes. Babies are encouraged to crawl and given support to take steps.
• Staff support children to learn about feelings and manage their behaviour. Children share resources and are kind to their peers. Older children complete tasks and younger children are learning to blow their noses. Children's behaviour is generally good. However, some toddlers find routines like tidy-up time more difficult. Some routines in the baby room do not always benefit the babies to fully enjoy the experience.
• The manager fully supports her staff's well-being. There are robust recruitment procedures in place and a full induction programme. Staff have regular supervision and work on their targets. They have access to online training and staff meetings to help build on their knowledge. The manager monitors practice and initiates new ideas, building on children's progress. However, she does not always seek views from parents to further help with improvements.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• reflect and review routines during the day to ensure that all children benefit from the experience and continue their learning
• seek views from parents to help support the evaluation of the nursery and how further improvements can be made.