Marlow Day Nursery Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children run happily into this welcoming nursery. They settle quickly and demonstrate positive attitudes to their learning. For example, children explore building with construction toys, creating their own designs and delighting in the outcomes. Despite facing some challenges, children persevere, proudly showing staff what they have made. This helps to build children's confidence, resilience and self-esteem.

Staff know children well and provide a stimulating learning environment for children of all ages. They identify children's individual next steps in learning and provide activities that promote these well. Staff have high expectations for children and provide activities that build on what they can already do. Children use their hand-to-eye coordination and small muscles well. This is evident when children use tools to model play dough or when babies learn to eat with spoons.

Children are well behaved and polite. Staff teach children about respect and tolerance towards each other. They encourage children to share and take turns and this helps children to develop good personal and social skills. Children learn to manage their own safety. For example, staff encourage them to report any dangers they see in the environment. This fosters an understanding of how to keep themselves safe.

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

• The leadership team is passionate about the nursery. Leaders have worked hard to make improvements since the last inspection. There is now a consistent key-person system in place and staff plan appropriate activities to support children's next steps in their learning and development. Support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities is good. Potential issues are identified early on and external support and advice are sought when necessary. Parents are fully involved in the process.
• Staff encourage children to develop a real interest in books from a young age. Toddlers select board books independently, turn the pages and point at the pictures. Staff make books available for children to take home and enjoy with their family, cultivating children's early love of reading.
• Staff support children to develop their communication and language skills effectively. For example, they respond positively to babies' gestures and babbles. Staff use words such as 'edible' and 'bitter' as they encourage children to identify and talk about herbs. Staff encourage children to discuss their ideas and share their thoughts. They ask questions to extend their learning. However, occasionally, staff do not give children enough time to think and respond in order to share their knowledge and understanding.
• Staff plan exciting activities that motivate and extend children's understanding of the world around them. For example, children learn about different herbs as they make potions. They clearly enjoy the sensory experience as they add spices and stir the mixture. However, staff do not always make the most of opportunities to further extend children's learning in mathematics, for example by introducing concepts of weight and measurement as children mix and add ingredients to their potions.
• Staff are good at building on and extending learning opportunities. For example, when children peel and chop vegetables, staff suggest cooking them for the children to taste. Healthy food is prepared daily on site and children eat with enjoyment. Older children enjoy taking on additional responsibilities, such as helping at lunchtime. They become increasingly independent as they learn to use cutlery and manage their own personal care.
• Children have many opportunities to enjoy fresh air. They eagerly explore the outdoor areas. They are busy and engaged and have fun playing games with their friends. Children develop their large-muscle skills as they climb, run and play outside. They learn about the world around them as they enthusiastically make campsites and build aeroplanes from planks of wood.
• Partnerships with parents are highly valued. Parents warmly describe the friendliness of the staff team and how happy their children are to attend the setting. There is a wealth of opportunity for parents to be involved in their children's learning, within the nursery and at home. Parents contribute to their children's initial assessments and receive an abundance of information through discussions, newsletters and online.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• build on staff's questioning techniques to enable children to have more time to think, respond and demonstrate what they know and understand
• embed the improvements to staff practice further to help them to identify and use opportunities to extend children's mathematical development as they play.