New Birth Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff greet children at the start of their day at nursery. Staff design an environment and plan activities that build on what children already know and can do. For example, they have created extensive role-play areas, where children can use their play to explore familiar situations. Children confidently recreate their experiences from home. Staff know children well and which resources they are drawn to. They use this to introduce new experiences to develop children's confidence to play with a wide range of toys.

Staff make sure that song and story times are fun and animated. Children go quickly to sit on the carpet when it is time to hear a story. They join in to perform the actions to familiar songs. This helps children to develop their recall skills and love of books from a young age. Children of all ages enjoy messy and sensory play. For instance, they mix sand and scoop it into containers. Staff use activities such as these to help children to develop strength in their hands, in readiness for when they start to write. Children behave well and their independence is well promoted throughout the day. They learn the skills that they need to ensure that they are well prepared for the next stage in their learning, including starting school.

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

• Staff plan interesting and inviting learning opportunities and make sure that the nursery is well resourced. Children play outdoors in the nursery garden, where the space has been planned effectively to provide a range of sensory learning experiences. Children make choices about their learning indoors and outside.
• Staff sit with children and engage with activities alongside them. Leaders support staff to improve their practice by using the teaching skills that they learn on training courses. For example, staff use incisive questioning and add new vocabulary during activities. Sometimes, however, staff do not give children enough time to consider their responses to questions and share their ideas.
• Children behave well. Staff help them to interact positively with their friends and the adults who care for them. Children learn to use polite language, such as 'please' and 'thank you'. Staff role model sharing and turn taking to help children to play well together. This helps children to make friends and develop their social skills.
• Children eat a wide variety of meals from a healthy menu, which is shared with parents. Staff cater for children's allergies and dietary preferences. They monitor children closely as they eat. Water is available to children throughout the day and staff encourage them to eat well at mealtimes and snack times.
• At the table, children learn to use cutlery and feed themselves independently. They choose whether they have milk or water, and are supported to pour their drinks themselves. When children have finished eating, they scrape their plates and put them in a basin. This helps children to learn good table manners and independence.
• Overall, children are happy at the nursery and staff support them throughout the day. Although children are allocated a key person who plans for their individual learning, these staff members do not always have enough time to fully support all of their key children. For example, in the baby room, settling babies don't always get enough time with their key person to support them to settle into the daily routine and, as a result, they become tearful. This weaknesses in the key-person system means that babies are not as well supported as they could be when they first start at nursery.
• Parents say that they appreciate the daily updates which they get from staff when they collect their children. They comment that their children are happy at nursery and keen to go in every day. Parents say that their children are well prepared for their eventual move on to school nursery and Reception class.
• Leaders support parents if there are any concerns identified with their child's progress. The manager has good relationships with external agencies that can offer further support if required. The manager ensures that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities have an individual education plan in place to meet their needs.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• give children enough time to formulate responses to questions to help them develop their early language skills
• enable staff to undertake their key-person roles to ensure children settle well into the nursery and become familiar with the daily routine.