Marble Hall Little Angels Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy as they arrive at nursery. They easily separate from their parents and join in with activities. All children, including babies, demonstrate they feel safe and secure with staff as they greet them with a hug. Children receive praise from staff when they follow instructions, such as helping to tidy up, and generally, they behave well. On occasions where older children struggle to manage their own behaviour, staff use a range of techniques to help children make good choices and learn which behaviour is appropriate. When children have minor disagreements with their friends, staff support them to manage their feelings and solve problems. Children show that they are proud and have a sense of belonging at the nursery. They enjoy showing visitors photos of their family.

Children become increasingly independent at the nursery. At mealtimes, staff teach children how to pour their own drinks and to confidently use a knife and fork to eat. Children take responsibility for their environment when staff show them how to clean their plates and put rubbish in the bin. Children recognise their own coats and put them on before playing outdoors. Children are confident communicators. They talk to visitors and offer them pretend ice creams and coffee. Staff help children to learn how fruit and vegetables grow. This results in older children being curious and asking staff questions about the tomato plants they are growing.

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

• Staff support children's communication and language development well. Younger children hear nursery rhymes and familiar songs. Staff teach them the names for different animals, such as goats, sheep and horses. Staff are skilful as they adapt their language to be simple and easily understood. For example, when children enjoy pretending to have a tea party, staff ask them thoughtful questions about what they are making. Staff use a range of tools to support those who may find communication more difficult, such as children who speak English as an additional language. They use visual aids and sign language to help children express their wants and needs. As a result, all children make good progress with their communication.
• Children participate in daily routines, such as washing their hands before meals. At lunchtime, they enjoy serving themselves and eating lunch with their friends. However, staff do not always fully consider how daily routines and transitions impact children's learning. For example, play is sometimes interrupted when staff loudly announce it is time for snack which can disrupt children's concentration and engagement.
• Children develop their physical skills. Staff provide a range of activities to support the development of children's large and small muscles. Outdoors, children learn to throw and catch a ball. They enjoy practising scooping and pouring with sand. At snack time, staff teach children how to squeeze with their hands to use the tongs. Younger children enjoy using their fingers to pop bubbles.
• Leaders have implemented a lending library to encourage parents to read to their children at home, helping to build on their love of books. However, sometimes, when staff read stories to children, they do not support them to focus and engage in the learning being offered. This results in children being distracted and disengaging.
• Support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is good. Highly skilled staff work closely with a range of external professionals to seek the help and support that children need. They know children well and create targeted support plans which helps them deliver suitable activities. Staff use a range of strategies to ensure they are always inclusive and consistently adapt their activities and the environment to meet the needs of all children. Consequently, children with SEND make excellent progress from their starting points in learning.
• Leaders support staff well. They identify areas they wish to improve and provide training to staff to close any gaps in their learning. For example, staff recently attended training to further support children's emotions. Leaders have established strong parent partnerships and parents speak very highly of the support the nursery provides.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• consider the organisation of activities and daily routines to enable children to engage more deeply in learning opportunities
• help staff to build on children's attention and focus, such as when sharing books and stories with them.