Mrs Nursery Childcare

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children have a happy, busy time at nursery. They demonstrate that they feel safe in the care of the kind and encouraging staff. Children of all ages like looking at books and listening to stories. Toddlers take great delight in repeating the words 'dinosaur poo' when they find pictures of it in the engaging book they have chosen. Pre-school children exercise democracy when they vote for the story that they want to hear at the end of the morning. This helps them to learn a fair way to make group decisions. Children learn that stories have a beginning, a middle and an end. This helps them to begin to make up their own storylines. Children's obvious enjoyment of books prepares them well for learning to read.

Staff model and teach clear expectations for children's behaviour. Children copy staff. They learn to be courteous and friendly towards other people. Parents and carers did not enter the building during the COVID-19 pandemic. This helped to keep everyone safe from infection. It also motivated managers to develop new ways to communicate with families. Parents say that children like to see the digital photos that staff send to them. The photos help to stimulate informed conversations at home about events at nursery.

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

• The manager communicates her vision for the nursery effectively. She is uncompromising in her determination to meet the unique needs of children and their families. Staff copy her example. They talk about and celebrate children's progress and achievements. This helps to make the nursery a positive place for everyone.
• Managers enable staff to undertake further training and to improve their professional skills. Their supervision of staff is supportive. Staff feel able to seek advice and share any concerns. However, managers sometimes set improvement targets for staff without making the intended impact on children's learning clear enough. This slows staff's progress towards the consistently excellent practice that promotes children's swiftest progress.
• The inclusion of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities is a particular strength of the nursery. The special educational needs coordinator incorporates guidance from specialist professionals into children's individual programmes. Staff and parents work in partnership to implement agreed strategies. For example, they all use the same words, pictures and phrases to communicate with children. Children make good progress from their starting points.
• Staff teach children to use numbers for a variety of purposes. They help babies to notice the difference between 'one pig' and 'two pigs', during small-world play. Children learn that the sand takes 'five minutes' to run down in the sand timer, while they tidy up the toys. Pre-school children know that '10 votes' are more than 'five votes', when they count the contents of the ballot box at story time. These activities help to promote children's early numeracy effectively.
• Staff use pictures and symbols effectively in their teaching. They draw pictures on wooden spoons to represent songs. Toddlers remember which picture matches each song. This is good preparation for early reading. The activity enables children to express choice and extend their vocabulary. They begin to respect each other's preferences and learn to wait for their turn.
• Children play and learn outside every day. Younger toddlers work hard to climb steps before whizzing down the little slide. Older children practise basketball skills. They begin to skilfully combine forward motion with shooting the ball through the hoop. The active play helps children of all ages to develop balance, coordination and confidence.
• Children eat healthy, nutritious food at nursery. They learn the importance of a balanced diet. Children acquire habits that promote their health and safety. They know that they must use sun cream when the weather is hot. They know that they must wash their hands after using the toilet and before eating.
• Managers and parents work together as partners. They make joint decisions about how to spend additional funding, such as the early years pupil premium. Parents comment that staff welcome the digital photos they send to nursery. They say that staff use the photos to stimulate learning opportunities for children. Parents describe the nursery as a 'positive, happy place'.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• focus improvement planning more clearly, so that staff know precisely what they are aiming to achieve, and the impact on the quality of children's education is measured.