Ministars Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children form warm, strong bonds with this stable, very caring staff team. Staff are very attentive to each child's needs and value each child highly. For instance, they find out about children's individual interests and reflect this in activities which children greatly enjoy. Staff take great care to settle babies in securely. For example, they find out about babies' home care routines, which are maintained to ensure familiarity and to help babies to feel secure.

The curriculum is challenging and interesting. Children make good progress and gain valuable skills in preparation for school. Children learn about difference. For example, staff teach children about famous people of colour and read stories that have multicultural characters. Children learn to do things for themselves. For instance, they help to set tables, serve themselves at mealtimes, and pour their own drinks. Children develop a strong understanding of the world. They plant and grow an abundance of fruit, herbs and vegetables in the garden, such as lavender, pumpkins, pears and figs. Staff teach children how to care for the nursery pets, which include a water turtle and rabbits. Staff have high expectations of children and use praise and reward to encourage children to behave well. They use a calm, fair and consistent approach. Children learn to share and take turns.

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

• Staff provide good support to children's physical development. For example, children balance along planks and climb on frames with skill. Babies enjoy crawling through tunnels and rolling balls along the ground. Children have good opportunity to practise a wide range of physical skills.
• Staff teach children good communication, language and literacy skills, for example they use sign language throughout the day. This supports all children, particularly for those who speak English as an additional language or with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff read stories to children who participate using props. They ask children to describe interesting items they select from a box and children learn new words.
• Staff support children's creative development effectively. For instance, children make their own play dough to create their own models. Children use toy animals and paint to make footprints on paper. Babies greatly enjoy using a variety of musical instruments to explore different sounds.
• Staff have very strong links with parents. Parents describe the staff as 'wonderfully enthusiastic, knowledgeable, patient and caring'. They keep them very well informed of children's progress and activities in highly effective, flexible ways, for example, by secure electronic communication and daily verbal feedback. Parents borrow a range of toys and books from the nursery resource library to share with their children at home to support their learning well.
• The manager places high value on each member of the long-serving, stable staff team. She meets with them individually to discuss work and offer support where needed. The manager ensures that staff have access to a broad variety of courses, such as supporting outdoor learning to promote best outcomes for children. She supports staff well-being effectively, for instance she provides day trips for staff and staff have access to a counsellor if needed.
• Staff help children to gain good understanding of different feelings. They ask them how they are feeling during group time discussion and use visual props to name and describe different feelings.
• The manager reviews the nursery's performance regularly and identifies key areas for improvement. For example, she plans to integrate the use of technology more fully to support children's learning.
• Children develop good mathematical skills. Staff make the most of everyday opportunities to teach children about number, for example, by counting plates and cups at mealtimes. Staff sing number songs and rhymes with children and teach them about different shapes as they build with bricks.
• Overall, staff ensure that children have healthy routines. The cook provides fresh, nutritious appetising meals and snacks for children, which meet special dietary needs. Staff ensure that children have daily opportunities to develop their physical skills. However, staff do not help children to gain awareness of the value of eating well in a consistent way.
• Staff have begun to teach children about oral hygiene. For example, they sometimes talk to children about the need to brush their teeth regularly. However, this area has not been developed to support children's awareness of oral hygiene more fully.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen children's understanding of the benefits of eating nutritious food more consistently
• develop children's awareness of oral hygiene further.