Monkey Puzzle Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happily at the nursery. They are greeted warmly by their room leaders, who chat excitedly about their plans for the day. Staff plan activities that build upon children's previous learning. For example, in the pre-school room, children are creating structures. One child recalls their learning about the Eiffel Tower from the previous week. Children display a positive attitude to their learning. They join in all activities enthusiastically. Staff in the baby room, in particular, plan activities that thoroughly engage children. During a sensory activity, babies are fully absorbed in investigating the various textures of cornflour.

Children across all areas of the nursery demonstrate high levels of confidence. They interact well with staff in all activities and respond well to their consistent praise and encouragement. Children and babies interact well with visitors to the nursery. They engage them in their play and talk excitedly about their favourite activities. Staff support children's transition through the nursery exceptionally well. They have well-planned procedures in place, which they adapt to meet the needs of all children. Children have numerous sessions to explore the new environment with their new key person. This means children settle swiftly without disruption to their learning.

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

• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported in the nursery. Management demonstrate integrity in distributing additional funding appropriately. For example, they have recently purchased puppets to develop children's understanding of appropriate behaviour.
• Staff have a good understanding of individual children's interests. They use this knowledge to plan exciting activities to support children's development. For example, in the pre-school room, staff use toy vehicles to encourage children's early writing skills.
• Staff make effective use of assessment across the nursery. They have strong knowledge of children's abilities. This allows them to plan and implement a clearly sequenced curriculum, which supports the development of all children.
• Parents speak highly of staff and the care they provide. They value the strong bonds they form with children. Parents also praise the daily communication they receive about children's activities and routines. They receive regular updates on children's developmental progress.
• Staff encourage parents in continuing children's development at home. They offer ideas of activities to build on what children are learning in nursery. Families are able to access 'grab bags' from the nursery, which are resources to share at home that support children's learning.
• Communication and language skills are well supported in all areas of the nursery. Staff regularly introduce new words and explain their meaning in age-appropriate ways. Staff in the baby room are exceptionally skilled in creating an environment that supports early communication. They engage continuously with babies, talking and singing to them and allowing them time to respond.
• Children have a good understanding of healthy lifestyles. They enjoy nutritious meals prepared by the nursery chef. During lunch, pre-school children discuss how eating healthy meals gives them energy to learn. Children in all areas follow rigorous hygiene routines. They are supported to wash their hands before eating, and after coughing and wiping their noses.
• Staff develop children's understanding of what makes them unique. Children are encouraged to celebrate their family customs and beliefs. For example, parents are invited to prepare a variety of foods that reflect their cultures and children share them with their friends at the nursery.
• Managers complete regular appraisals on staff to establish training needs. They support staff to access various online and face-to-face courses to enhance their knowledge. However, staff would benefit from more robust coaching and mentoring opportunities. This would support them in raising the quality of their teaching to a consistently high level across all areas of the nursery.
• Managers have procedures in place to monitor staff well-being. Staff have continuous access to support and advice when needed. However, in certain areas of the nursery, staff are not always appropriately allocated. As a result, staff can be overburdened with tasks at certain points of the day.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• establish more robust methods of staff coaching and mentoring to raise the quality of teaching to a consistently high level across all areas of the nursery
• plan more effective allocation of staff to ensure some rooms are not overburdened with tasks at busier points during the day.