Old MacDonald's Day Nursery and Preschool ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happy, and staff engage them immediately, so they are excited and eager to explore the activities. For example, older children experiment with making porridge, noticing the changes as they add water. Young children are fascinated by the marks they leave behind in shaving foam, and staff respond well to children's suggestions, such as adding glitter to make it sparkle. Leaders deploy staff successfully, ensuring they keep children safe and provide effective emotional support, care and learning.

Staff training has had a positive impact on staff understanding children's behaviour, such as schemas, and using these patterns of learning to support children's development. For example, staff give beanbags to children who throw toys to aim into a container, helping with their hand-eye coordination.

Leaders and staff plan an ambitious curriculum for all children. This inclusive setting focuses on where children may need additional support. Leaders ensure all staff know each child's individual needs and how to assist them to make the best progress they can. The curriculum builds on what children can already do so that step by step they become confident in using their new skills and knowledge. Children develop positive attitudes to learning, which prepares them well for school.

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

• There is a strong leadership team. They mentor new and less experienced staff, providing feedback from observations of their practice to help ensure all children receive high-quality interactions. Leaders continually review and evaluate their practice, seeking the views of parents, staff and children. For example, they have improved the way they provide information for parents. Leaders have involved the nursery in a local initiative to support children learning English as an additional language (EAL), and this has had a positive impact on the quality of teaching and children's learning.
• Children have good opportunities to develop their language skills. Staff are interactive with those reluctant to speak, providing a narrative for their play, using appropriate, simple words. They give young children, and those learning EAL and/or with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), visual aids to help their understanding. They give children enough time to think and respond to questions, engage them in songs and stories and use lots of repetition to help children to remember.
• Staff know the children well and plan successfully to motivate their learning and play. They encourage children to explore and experiment, learning through trial and error. For example, older children work together well to fill a flexible tube with water, suggesting using a funnel to make it easier. Then they excitedly take it in turns to blow the water out of the tube and see how far it goes, having enormous fun while learning.
• Children behave well. Staff are kind and gentle with children, providing good role models. They are open and honest with children, supporting them in sensitively understanding the needs of those with SEND. Children learn to respect and value each other's differences and similarities, developing positive relationships. However, on occasion, noise levels in the pre-school make it harder for some children to hear or be heard.
• Staff provide good support for children to become increasingly independent. Young children learn to manage cups for drinking, and older children proudly demonstrate how they can put on their shoes and do up the buckles. Overall, staff make good use of routines, such as helping children identify what is missing from the snack table and enabling them to peel fruit, cut it up and pour drinks. However, there is inconsistency in how well staff use routines to extend children's mathematical development.
• Leaders and staff develop important partnerships with parents. They are proactive with those harder to reach and sensitively support their involvement, understanding the positive impact this has on children's development and care. Staff work closely with parents to help ensure children become independent in their personal needs and develop a good awareness of healthy practices. Parents and carers are incredibly positive about the support from staff and their children's care and development.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• improve the implementation of good practice to keep noise levels down and enable all children to hear and be heard better
• ensure consistency in the staffs' use of daily routines to support older children's mathematical development even further.