Old MacDonald's Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enjoy attending the nursery. They arrive and eagerly wait for staff to greet them at the door. Children begin to make friends from a young age. Babies enjoy interacting with one another. They pass toys to each other and smile as staff praise them for sharing. This helps the youngest children to begin to develop their confidence.

The oldest children show high levels of respect for one another, such as when they complete a sinking and floating activity. They listen with interest as their friends make predictions about what will happen to the different objects. They wait patiently for their turn to drop items into the water. These high levels of concentration and engagement help to prepare children for the next stage in their learning.

Children from different cultures feel valued and included at the nursery. They learn about festivals that their friends and staff in the room celebrate. Toddlers begin to act out stories that they have recently heard. For example, children play with dolls from a story about Diwali. Their friends play musical instruments, such as bells. Children pretend to make the dolls dance around to the music as the characters do in the story.

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

• Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities skilfully. For instance, they adapt the way they communicate to support non-verbal children. They use visual cues and Makaton signs to prepare children for what is happening next. This helps children to understand routines. Children learn to use these signs to communicate back to staff. For instance, they use actions to show that they want to play with a toy helicopter. They respond positively when staff help them to find what they want.
• Partnerships between staff and parents are strong. Parents share information about what children can do for themselves. They update staff regularly, such as when children move on to the next room. Staff recognise the importance of involving parents in the planning process. For instance, they find out what parents' aspirations are for their children. This helps staff to plan meaningful activities for children. Staff help and guide parents. For instance, they give them information on how to support children to stop using dummies. They talk to parents about the positive effects this has on children's speech development. Parents are grateful for the information they receive.
• The dedicated management team recognises the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on staff and children. They kept in close contact with staff when the nursery closed due to local lockdowns and discussed their well-being. As a result, staff feel valued and appreciated. Managers sent out home-learning packs for children during the pandemic. This helped to minimise any gaps in children's learning. When children returned, staff focused on children's social and emotional skills. This helped children to settle back in quickly.
• Children develop their muscles during sensory-play opportunities. Staff encourage toddlers to use their hands to explore. Staff reassure and encourage them if they are unsure of the texture on their hands. Older children confidently knead dough. The oldest children have developed strong hand muscles and are ready to write. They learn how to hold tools, such as pencils correctly. They make marks on sheets of paper to record their findings during experiments. This helps them to understand that the marks they make have meaning.
• Staff interact enthusiastically with children throughout the nursery. They talk to children about the activities that they complete. This helps children to build on their existing learning. However, the quality of staff's interactions with children across the nursery are not yet at a consistently high standard. As a result, children's learning experiences are not always as strong as they could be. Managers recognise the need to support less-experienced and less-qualified members of staff. Nonetheless, the support that staff receive is not yet highly effective.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support less-experienced members of staff to develop their professional knowledge and interactions with children to a consistently high standard.