Nurture Hub Daycare Nursery Horncastle Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children eagerly arrive at the nursery and are greeted by the warm and welcoming staff team. Staff engage with new parents and carers as they arrive. They find out information about children to support with their transitions from home to the nursery. Babies show they build trusting relationships and attachments with staff. For example, they hold their arms out for a cuddle and show they feel comfortable.

All children benefit from a varied curriculum. For example, staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) to understand what will happen now and next to help them to follow routines. Babies develop their physical skills, such as when staff provide them with activities to stir and grab objects. Older children demonstrate curiosity as they mix colours with paint, proudly sharing with their friends what colours they make.

Overall, children behave well. Staff speak respectfully and calmly to children, encouraging them to be helpful. For example, children help their friends when they find tasks difficult. Outside, staff support children's physical development well. For instance, they provide regular opportunities for children to develop the muscles in their bodies. For example, children use ride-on toys and practise balancing on equipment, such as stilts.

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

• The nursery implements an effective key-worker system that supports children to build positive relationships between staff and children. Staff use information gathered from parents about their children's individual care routines when they first start to support them to settle. They use this information to implement routines and follow children's interests. This helps children to develop a sense of belonging and builds their self-esteem.
• Children with SEND receive good support. Staff complete observations of children to identify any emerging needs. They implement targeted support plans to monitor the progress children make. Furthermore, the nursery works in close partnerships with parents and other professionals to support children's learning and development. Staff use additional funding effectively to provide children with resources that promote their learning. For example, they have purchased sensory toys to support children's listening and attentions skills. As a result, children with SEND make good progress.
• Staff implement rules and boundaries with older children, such as to listen and be kind to each other. However, they do not respond quickly when younger children struggle to manage their behaviour. This results in younger children not consistently understanding what is expected of them.
• Children are keen to join in the activities that staff plan for them. However, sometimes during these activities, staff do not consider how to incorporate children's next steps in learning more precisely. This does not consistently help children to build on what they already know and can do.
• Leaders complete regular supervision meetings with staff to discuss their professional development and progress. Additionally, they participate in peer observations, which help them to reflect on their practice and develop their skills and confidence. Staff complete an array of training to keep their knowledge and skills up to date, such as specific training to support their interactions with babies.
• Parents compliment the staff team and state they are approachable and friendly. They appreciate the daily communication from staff about their children's day. Parents are complimentary about the care and learning opportunities their children receive.
• Staff support children's communication and language skills well. For example, they use single words and make sounds, such as 'pop' and 'choo', as they play alongside babies. Staff read stories to children and encourage conversations with older children about their prior learning experiences. Children talk about their previous learning about caterpillars and how they eat leaves and this makes them grow big.
• Staff actively welcome teachers from local schools to visit the nursery, to support with transitions when children move on to school. They provide a range of information to help school staff get to know their new children and to ensure that children's school transitions go smoothly.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to consistently help younger children to understand what is expected of them
• focus next steps in children's learning more precisely during planned activities to build on what they need to learn next.