Manor House Day Care (St Margaret's)

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enjoy playing and learning together in an environment that staff carefully plan to meet their needs. Leaders work with the staff to develop a well-rounded and flexible curriculum. They make sure that the curriculum adapts and changes to reflect children's learning. For example, in the summer term, as older children prepare to transition to school, staff focus on the skills that children need to learn to confidently manage their self-care independently. Staff know children well. This helps to ensure that they deliver a curriculum that supports individual children to make good progress in their learning.

Staff encourage children to play a key role in keeping themselves and their friends emotionally and physically safe. Children follow the nursery rules to make sure that they respect and care for each other and the resources they play with. Staff model the behaviour they expect of children. This results in a calm learning environment, where children and adults are kind to each other. This helps new children to settle well, make friends, and have a positive attitude to their learning.

Children are inquisitive learners. Staff are creative in their approach to help children to develop across all areas of learning. Staff bring spontaneity and fun to the day and encourage children to suggest their ideas. They encourage children to be active participants in the routine and gain confidence in their abilities. This helps children to prepare for the next stage in their learning, including starting school.

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

• Staff carefully consider the activities and experiences they plan to help children to build on what they already know and can do. Children become engrossed in their play throughout the day indoors and outside in the garden. Staff promote children's early speech and language development through incisive questions and conversations. Children play well alongside their friends and learn from each other. During the day, children independently choose the activities they engage with. Staff encourage children to try new experiences and challenge themselves.
• Children gather together as a group at the start of the day and again after lunch. This is to ensure that all children have access to the same experiences despite attending different sessions throughout the week. During these sessions, staff introduce children to mathematics and literacy and identify which children need additional support. Children thoroughly enjoy these times and concentrate fully on the challenging content. For example, when playing 'numbers bingo', children do simple sums, count the legs on a spider, and count dots to identify the numbers. This helps children to engage with numeracy in a way that is meaningful and useful.
• Staff observe children as they play and have a good understanding of what individual children know and can do. They know what children need to learn next. Children develop strong bonds with staff and go to them to share their excitement, or when they need a cuddle. Staff share information with parents about what children are learning, through electronic communication and face-to-face discussions. However, staff have not communicated fully to parents about the role of the key person or changes to the key-person system. For instance, some parents do not know the name of their child's key person and are not quite sure who is responsible for ensuring that their child's care is tailored to meet their individual needs. This means that parents are not sure who to talk to about any specific concerns or to seek support with their child's learning and development.
• Children benefit from the nursery's strong links to external agencies and a knowledgeable and experienced special educational needs coordinator (SENCo). The SENCo spends time with children to observe them and understand their individual needs. This helps to ensure that staff understand children's needs, and there are precise plans in place to support children. The SENCo makes timely referrals to external agencies and keeps the rest of the team well informed about children's support plans. This helps children to get appropriate help when they need it.
• The relationship between staff and senior leaders is open and professional. There is a strong child-focused culture, where staff prioritise children's needs and celebrate their learning. Leaders identify staff's training needs through regular supervision sessions and ensure that all staff get the time they need to complete any training they undertake. Staff express that they feel supported by senior leaders and confident to raise any concerns. This helps to develop a positive working environment for staff and a high-quality learning environment for children.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• provide parents with more information about their child's key person, who is responsible for meeting their child's individual needs.