Mumbles Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff provide a curriculum that encourages children to explore a wide range of exciting activities. For example, babies explore the sand, and poke, squash and flatten the scented dough. They snuggle up to staff as they sing nursery rhymes and read stories together.

Toddlers listen intently to their favourite story about a mouse and a monster. They act out the story in the home-made sensory tray, with artificial grass, natural resources and small-world characters from the book.

Pre-school children learn about hibernation and how animals survive the cold winter months. They look at photographs of animals that hibernate and use scissors, glue and leaves to make their own pictures of different animal homes. This, along with discussion, helps to consolidate children's learning.

Pre-school children become absorbed in games that involve working as a team and following rules. For example, they take it in turns to walk around the circle of children, tap one and then run back to their original place before they are tagged. During such activities, children squeal with delight as they chase each other. Children develop a strong can-do attitude. They are happy, confident and behave well.

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

• Staff have a deep understanding of their key children's stage of development. They have a strong awareness of children's personalities and their interests. They use this knowledge to provide a curriculum that strengthens and deepens children's skills across all areas of their learning.
• Staff encourage children to investigate and learn about the natural world. For example, children regularly visit the local country park. Here, children learn first hand about wildlife and plants. Furthermore, children grow their own food, such as carrots, potatoes and sweetcorn. Children watch as the plants grow and learn how to take care of them. They discover first hand where food comes from.
• Staff encourage children to learn about the diversity of people. For example, children listen to stories about Diwali and make their own candle holders. Additionally, children learn about Halloween. For example, they play in the nursery's own home-made pumpkin patch. Here, children sit on the pretend wooden tractor, play in the hay, serve in the role-play cafe and observe the real pumpkins growing. Children also learn about the Harvest festival traditions. They visit the local church and learn about the importance of giving food to those in need. Children regularly visit the local care home, where they interact with the elderly people.
• Staff create an environment that is homely, with comfy areas and soft lighting. This, along with loving and attentive staff, helps children to feel relaxed and secure and to engage in new experiences. However, some staff do not always keep the younger children engaged well enough during the changeover of routines.
• Staff use a wide range of effective approaches to encourage children's positive behaviour. The special educational needs coordinator has a secure understanding of how to identify and support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). This helps to ensure that they make the best possible progress.
• The chef provides home-cooked nutritious meals for the children. Children spend extended periods in the outdoor area. Younger children have the opportunity to experience physical challenge and manage risks for themselves. For example, they use the low-level balancing and climbing equipment. However, the older and most-able children do not experience physical play that is challenging or that tests their limits.
• Parents are actively involved in their children's learning. They comment on how much they value the secure online learning journal. Staff also provide parents with workshops to help them understand how to best support their child's learning at home.
• The management team make sure that each member of staff's practice is monitored and any issues are identified and planned for. They regularly seek the views of parents, children, staff and the local authority advisers. This, along with regular staff training, helps the management team to identify sharply focused targets that provide a strong drive for improvement.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance the day-to-day organisation of the nursery so that the younger children are effectively engaged during the changeover of routines
• enhance the already exciting outdoor physical opportunities available, so that the older most-able children experience an even higher level of physical challenge in their play.