Mel's Totstop Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are supported to learn clear rules and boundaries. Staff reinforce these golden rules with children, including 'listening ears' and 'kind hands'. This instils children with respect and positive attitudes to learning. For example, staff remind children to listen and wait for their turn when someone else is speaking. Children are also encouraged to think about the reasons for these rules, helping them to understand and abide by them. Children explain they must always tell an adult where they are going so that, in an emergency, someone always knows where they are. They understand that this helps to keep them safe from harm.

All children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, receive good support from staff. This is because staff help children to learn key skills and knowledge to support their future learning. Children take part in planned circle-time activities, where they learn to sit and listen. Younger children develop their communication skills during singing activities. Children take turns choosing puppets and props out of a box, and staff encourage them to sing an associated nursery rhyme. This also helps the young children to remain focused and engaged. In pre-school, older children are challenged as staff encourage them to identify the day of the week and season. They also develop their counting skills as they count the number of children present.

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

• The manager has worked with staff to improve the quality of provision for children. She now videos staff's interactions with children when monitoring their practice. This helps staff to be reflective as they identify their own strengths and areas for future improvement.
• Staff now understand the skills and knowledge they would like children to develop over time. They plan interesting experiences to support and build on children's prior learning.
• Staff use snack and mealtimes as quality learning experiences to promote children's independence, social and physical skills. For example, younger children have lidded cups to drink from before moving onto open-topped cups when they have developed their coordination and control. Children are encouraged to socialise with their peers as they choose their snack from the healthy options available. Staff introduce children to safety knives as they help them to take turns cutting up their own fruit.
• Secure routines are used so that children begin to understand what is coming next. Children understand that when staff ring the triangle, they must stop what they are doing and listen. Staff give children time warnings so they know it will be time to tidy up soon. On the final warning, older children excitedly count down from 10 to one before helping to tidy away their resources.
• When staff undertake routine tasks in the younger children's room, they do not support all children effectively to remain engaged and focused on their play. For example, when staff apply children's sun cream, they do not firstly ensure that all children are fully engrossed in purposeful play experiences. This results in some children running around for this brief period.
• Children relate well to staff, with each child now having a key person who plans future learning opportunities to support their continued progression.
• Staff extend children's learning through their interests. For example, following a discussion about holidays, staff provide opportunities for children to use their imagination when designing beach pictures. Children develop their physical skills when using scissors, as well as their social skills as they take turns using the glue sticks. As children enjoy rolling cars down guttering outside, staff ask them to identify how fast or slow their cars are travelling.
• Staff encourage children to use their imagination when using milk crates to design an aeroplane. Staff ask questions about how to make the aeroplane and where to place the wings. However, sometimes, staff are too quick to provide solutions when children encounter problems in their play.
• Parents confirm that they receive clear information about their children's ongoing care, learning and development. They explain how staff have provided sound advice on behavioural issues and potty training. Parents explain how their children have been supported when transitioning to new rooms, with staff helping them to adjust to new routines and challenges.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• clarify how children will continue to be engaged in purposeful play when staff are completing routine tasks
• support all staff to help children to work through any problems they encounter in their play, so that they are encouraged to find and explore their own solutions.