Marshmallows Accrington Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff greet children at the door when they arrive at the nursery. They are caring and attentive. Staff help children to leave their parents and carers and join other children to engage in learning. Staff know children well. Key persons confidently identify and support children's progress by using specific plans to target their learning. Leaders and staff work closely with other professionals to provide children with the best care and support available. In addition, staff receive training to extend their knowledge and practice to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. This helps all children to make good progress.

Staff incorporate opportunities for children to develop their independence skills. For example, older babies confidently seek out their water cups when they are thirsty, and older children learn to dress themselves independently. For example, as children role play and pretend to go to school, they identify the correct uniform and try hard to put on the jumpers. When they struggle, staff are close by to offer suggestions on how to succeed and encourage them to keep trying. Children demonstrate resilience, positive attitudes and are well prepared for their next stage in learning, including school.

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

• Staff plan opportunities throughout the day to support children's physical development. Outdoors, older children develop their large muscles, kicking and throwing balls to each other. Indoors, staff support younger children to develop their hand-eye coordination as they begin to feed themselves. Furthermore, all children enjoy painting, cutting and malleable play that strengthens their fine motor skills.
• Leaders and staff invite professionals, such as the local fire service, to talk to children about their role within the community. In addition, staff teach children about the traditions of Ramadan. Children happily provide 'iftar' bags for parents and staff to enjoy with them as they break their 'fast'. Staff nurture children to develop an understanding of their local community and the world around them.
• Partnerships with parents are a key strength. Daily conversations between staff and parents contribute to children's care and learning needs. Parents comment very positively on the information and ideas on home learning they receive, such as using malleable sand when their children are learning about space. They receive information in newsletters that helps them to feel included in their children's learning.
• In the main, staff have a clear curriculum in place and, overall, plan a broad range of learning opportunities that generally engage children well. For example, during song time, older babies and toddlers listen and follow simple instructions and join in with the actions to rhymes. However, on occasion, some staff do not always adapt their teaching during group times to ensure that the youngest babies develop an understanding of what is being asked of them. Consequently, some learning opportunities are too difficult for the youngest children and do not take account of their individual next steps in learning.
• Overall, staff support children's communication and language development well. They use rich language with children, introducing new words and encouraging back-and-forth conversations. Children enjoy small-group sessions, where staff introduce different objects and encourage children to use descriptive language to explain what they are seeing. However, at times, staff ask closed questions that do not encourage children's critical thinking skills.
• Staff support children to learn about a healthy lifestyle. Children have healthy meals and snacks. Staff encourage older children to follow good hygiene practices, such as 'Catch It, Bin It, Kill It', as they carry out self-care tasks, such as wiping their noses. However, on occasions, some staff do not consistently model good hygiene practices, such as washing their hands before serving food. Consequently, this gives children mixed messages and does not extend their understanding of good hygiene procedures.
• Staff supervise children effectively. For example, staff complete training on supporting children while sleeping. They follow safer sleeping principles and regularly check on children to ensure that they are safe and well. In addition, staff supervise children as they use a range of child-safe knives to slice their fruit at snack time. Staff encourage children to think about the risks of using knives and how to keep themselves safe. Children become increasingly aware of managing their own risks. This demonstrates a positive attitude to children's safety and well-being.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen group and adult-led activities with babies to take account of their individual next steps to build on what they already know and can do
• consider more effective ways to question and talk with children in order to encourage their critical thinking skills
• support staff to model good hygiene procedures more consistently and teach children why these are important.