Monkey Puzzle Day Nursery Solihull

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children separate happily from their parents on arrival at this welcoming setting. They eagerly become involved in the activities and experiences planned by the nurturing staff team to reflect children's interests. Children enjoy opportunities to engage in sensory play, such as rolling cars in paint or burying vegetables in mud.

Children learn about their local community. Together with staff, they visit local facilities such as the park and the library. Children particularly enjoy visiting a local care home, where they have the opportunity to build relationships with the residents. These experiences help to develop children's understanding of people and communities.

Children form strong, positive relationships with staff, which help them feel safe, secure and ready to learn. In the baby room, the staff are warm and attentive. They respond quickly when babies need comfort or support. Younger children enjoy being with familiar adults. They confidently explore the well-resourced learning environment, knowing staff are nearby to guide them. In the pre-school room, children talk openly with staff and know they will be listened to. These strong relationships help children to manage their feelings and build the confidence they need for their next stage of learning.

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

• Leaders have developed a comprehensive and well-balanced curriculum that emphasises the importance of supporting children's communication and language development. This focus ensures that children can access all seven areas of learning, enabling them to make good progress.
• Leaders support staff to reflect on their practice and encourage them further to extend their knowledge and understanding of child development. Staff have access to numerous training and development opportunities. Leaders then support them to put their newly acquired knowledge into practice.
• Staff report high levels of well-being. Leaders provide support and supervision to ensure staff understand their role and responsibilities. Together, they agree on action targets for staff to help drive improvement across the setting. Staff members report feeling valued and listened to. This creates a harmonious working environment that has a positive impact on children.
• Staff are strong role models for children's communication and language. They use a range of communication methods, including simple sign language, to support all children in expressing their wishes and feelings. Children delight in choosing books from the attractive displays. They snuggle closely into the staff to share their favourite stories. Staff understand the importance of using familiar words and phrases to extend language, as children confidently ask for their favourite stories over and over again.
• From an early age, staff encourage children to develop their independence. Staff support younger children in washing their hands and serving their lunch. Older children pour their drinks and scrape their plates when they have finished eating. Staff support children to use cutlery tailored to their developmental stage. Staff skilfully offer assistance and reassurance when needed. Children learn essential life skills in readiness for their eventual move to school.
• Leaders support staff to understand their role in promoting positive behaviour. They provide training and development opportunities to ensure that staff offer consistent support to children. This enables them to make positive behaviour choices and regulate their emotions. Staff recognise kindness and praise children when they show compassion to others.
• Staff demonstrate a clear understanding of children's interests, needs and development. They utilise children's lived experiences to design adult-led activities that inform learning. For example, children are learning about different countries. However, staff offer fewer opportunities for children to take the lead in their play, thereby extending their ideas and further developing their critical thinking skills.
• The setting has strong communication with parents, helping to support each child's learning and development. Staff share daily updates through face-to-face communication, including information about routines, activities and progress. Parents are regularly invited to a review meeting to discuss their child's development and agree on next steps. This regular contact keeps parents informed and involved in their child's early education.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to extend opportunities for children to lead their play and fully explore their ideas in order to develop their critical thinking skills even further.