Minibugs Liskeard

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happily and immediately settle into playing at this welcoming nursery. They develop warm relationships with staff and feel safe in their care. Staff thoughtfully organise the nursery environment to promote children's independence. Children of all ages easily access the equipment and resources they need. The use of child-sized furniture allows babies to easily learn to pull themselves up and begin to walk. Staff stay close to them as they play and offer a reassuring cuddle where necessary.

Leaders put in place a rich and varied curriculum which allows children to flourish. Key persons know their children well and use this knowledge to support children to reach their next steps. Children are confident and keen to learn. Older children excitedly play in their new outdoor classroom. Staff help them to develop their imaginations as they put on high-visibility jackets and pretend they are on a construction site building walls. They share resources well with their friends as they experiment with making mixtures in the mud kitchen. Children make particularly good progress in physical development. Babies carefully practise climbing safely on soft-play equipment. Staff teach them to safely come back down the steps. Toddlers enjoy the one-to-one attention of staff as they learn to throw and catch balls. Staff warmly praise children for their achievements.

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

• Leaders have a clear vision for the nursery and share this well with staff. They are knowledgeable and passionate about children achieving the best possible outcomes. Leaders work closely as a team to ensure that additional funding is used to target disadvantaged children. They enthuse about the plans they have in place to develop the nursery, particularly in relation to enhancing the outdoor provision to make it even more accessible for the youngest children.
• Staff supporting children's mathematical development is a strength. Children have frequent opportunities to develop their knowledge of shapes, number and measures. Staff use sensory play with sand and water to teach mathematical vocabulary, such as 'full' and 'half full'. They ensure that children access good-quality resources which motivate and engage children. For example, children become engrossed in activities involving playing with shapes on a light box.
• Staff promote children's love of reading well. They use carefully chosen books to support learning alongside other activities. For instance, staff use a story about tractors on a farm as they help toddlers to play with toy animals. Babies delight as they touch the different textures in the books and listen to staff read them stories.
• Children are confident. They learn to take appropriate risks in their play and are suitably challenged by their learning. For example, they experiment with pedalling quickly to go up and down ramps on tricycles in the outdoor area.
• Leaders work closely with other professionals to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They develop detailed plans to identify areas of need and measure their progress towards their next steps. They put in place enhanced transition processes for children with SEND who are moving on to school. However, on occasion, staff do not intervene quickly enough to support children with communication and interaction difficulties to engage in activities, especially when they are in the outdoor area.
• Children are enthusiastic learners and behave well. However, sometimes, the nursery can become too noisy as staff and children raise their voices to be heard. At these times, it is difficult for children to focus and staff do not always recognise the need to reduce noise levels.
• Parent partnerships are strong. Staff work closely with new families to provide a personalised settling-in process for each child. Leaders provide additional workshops for parents to support children's emotional development. Parents comment on the family feel of the nursery and praise the 'brilliant' staff.
• Leaders put in place robust safe recruitment procedures and provide a thorough induction for new members of staff. Staff have frequent opportunities to develop their knowledge as part of a focused programme of professional development. For example, staff have recently updated their safeguarding knowledge to ensure that they can recognise a wider range of issues which could affect the children in their care.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• ensure that those children who have difficulties with their communication and interaction with others, receive the support they need from staff, especially when outdoors, so they can engage more readily in activities
• reduce the noise levels in the toddler and pre-school room to make it easier for children to focus, particularly at the start of the day.