Manor Community Childcare Centre Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enjoy coming to the nursery. They arrive happy and are welcomed by staff. Children wiggle, clap and stamp as they sing familiar songs and get ready for circle time. Staff pace their interactions well. They listen to children and give them time to think and respond. Staff repeat back key phrases so that children hear the correct pronunciation and know that staff are listening.

Staff focus the curriculum on the prime areas of learning. They identify children's interests, observe their progress and identify their possible next steps in learning. Children enjoy small-group activities, such as planting seeds. Staff demonstrate and explain so that children learn to cover the seeds with a 'blanket of soil'. Children learn to take turns and are calm and engaged. They develop thinking skills and solve problems, such as how to clear up the compost. Children practise and pretend to plant in the sand as they remember what they have learned.

Children have a sense of belonging. They feel valued and become active learners. Older children enjoy imaginative play. For example, they dress up and role play, choose books and explain their favourite stories to each other. Children develop oracy as they share their ideas with other children at group times. They learn to take turns as they respond to questions and label their emotions. Children are confident and experiment with new vocabulary, such as 'literally'.

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

• Most of the time, staff organise the setting well and have a routine so that children know what is happening now and next. However, on occasions, during outdoor play, routines and areas for play become disorganised. Staff do not clearly designate play areas for planned activities and the needs of different age ranges of children. Consequently, children become distracted by other activities taking place, such as children riding bicycles, which makes it difficult for them to engage and learn.
• Staff are knowledgeable about child development. They recognise that children learn in different ways and create a wide range of creative activities that ignite children's curiosity and promote their language. For example, staff provide spring-themed activities for children to explore. Children explore new sensory materials, such as chia seeds, as they learn about ponds and frogs.
• Staff embed equality, diversity and inclusion throughout the setting. Staff celebrate the diversity in their community in their interactions. They provide resources and books that represent different ethnicities. Staff encourage families to share words from their home languages. Leaders spend additional funding wisely to meet children's needs, examples include food and sensory equipment.
• Leaders and staff work closely with other professionals to support all children to make progress from their starting points in development. Staff develop targeted support plans for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those from disadvantaged backgrounds. They use a visual timetable and sign language throughout the nursery so that all children are included and can understand.
• Staff support children's healthy lifestyles. For example, they provide healthy snacks, encourage toothbrushing and share health information with parents. Children learn to develop their independence in some everyday tasks, such as fastening their coats. However, on occasions, staff do things for children that they could be learning to do for themselves, including peeling their fruit.
• Leaders and staff are dedicated and enthusiastic. They know the community well and work tirelessly to build trusting relationships with parents and carers. Staff welcome parents into the nursery and have developed a lending library and parents' room to help parents to feel valued.
• Staff share information with parents in a variety of ways, including displays, daily conversations and weekly updates on a closed social media platform. They link information to the curriculum so that parents know what their children are learning and can extend children's learning at home.
• Parents say that the setting is 'marvellous' and that they feel part of a family. They comment that they know and trust staff. They say that leaders offer specialist support for children with SEND and who speak English as an additional language. Parents report that their children make good progress, especially in their language and communication.
• The provider acknowledges that they failed to notify Ofsted of the appointment of a new director, which is a requirement of their registration. However, they have now rectified this and made the necessary notifications to Ofsted.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review the organisation of outdoor play so that all children can engage and explore with fewer distractions
• extend opportunities even further so that children can practise their independence, such as by completing everyday tasks for themselves.