Magical Moments

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children and parents are greeted warmly by staff. They begin their day with group registration time. During this time, staff support children to get to know each other. They help children to learn and understand the rules and routines. Babies beam with smiling faces as they interact with the supportive and nurturing staff. Staff use key parts of the day, such as care routines, to form relationships with children through loving interactions. This helps children to feel safe and secure in their environment and form strong attachments.

Staff are good role models for children and support them to learn new skills. For example, staff show children how to use chopsticks to pick up noodles. This helps children to develop their small-muscle skills. Staff provide engaging activities, which helps children to develop a positive attitude to learning. Children display good levels of concentration. Staff speak to children in their home languages, alongside English. They also find out key words that are important to them. This supports children to develop their sense of self and learn English.

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

• The experienced and skilled manager has worked with staff to develop a clear vision of what it is they want children to learn. She has also worked with parents to seek information about children's starting points. The manager shares this information with staff so they can plan learning opportunities to help all children make good progress.
• An established key-person system helps children form secure attachments. Children seek to engage with staff in the rooms. They enjoy cuddling and sharing their play, which promotes children's personal development. Staff engage with children well. They provide the care and attention that supports children's feelings and sense of belonging. This helps to promote their emotional well-being.
• Leaders and staff have formed good relationships with families. Parents are updated about what their children have been doing at the nursery. However, systems to support children's development at home are not as effective. This means that children do not consistently benefit from continuity in their care and learning.
• Staff know children well. They have a good understanding of where children are up to in their development. They carefully plan for each child's development based on their individual needs. However, during some activities, staff do not consistently take account of children's next steps in learning. As a result, children's learning is not always fully extended.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported. Staff work closely with a range of external professionals, sharing strategies to support the learning needs of children. The special educational needs coordinator is experienced and acts quickly to ensure appropriate support is in place. As a result, all children are making good progress.
• Staff help children develop a love of books from an early age. For example, they offer children a diverse collection of stories to take home to share with their families. Toddlers sit on staff members' laps and they look at books together. Older children sit in small groups to listen to staff reading stories. Books are easily accessible for children to choose freely. These activities support children's early literacy skills.
• Children behave well. For example, they play collaboratively as they try to keep a large parachute up in the air. They cheer everyone on as they coordinate their movements and raise the parachute higher or lower it to the ground. Children hold hands and dance to the music. This helps to boost children's self-confidence and creativity.
• Children's physical development is promoted well. They confidently ride around the outdoor area on tricycles and balance bicycles. Staff encourage children to think for themselves and solve problems. For example, children work together to mend their den and find ways to successfully attach the poles to the canopy. This also helps to develop children's muscle movements and thinking skills.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• extend further the information-sharing with parents to help involve all parents in their children's continued learning at home
• strengthen staff's ability to adapt the curriculum so that all children's prior learning is extended during play, helping them make even more progress.