Olive Tree Day Nursery and Preschool - Croydon

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happy to attend the setting. They receive a warm welcome from the friendly staff on arrival. Babies enjoy cuddles from staff, who offer them reassurance when needed. This helps children to settle quickly and feel safe and secure. An effective key-person system supports children to make attachments from the start. Staff and parents and carers share information about children, which enhances children's well-being.

Staff plan and provide a broad and exciting curriculum, which supports children's learning and development. For example, babies enjoy splashing in water with leaves and squeezing dough, which develop their sensory experiences. Toddlers fill buckets with sand and use tools to extend their fine motor skills. Staff support older children to extend their literacy skills and learn about the importance of exercise and healthy eating for their bodies. They engage well with children during activities.

Staff support and extend children's mathematical knowledge through a range of activities. Children learn to count, identify shapes and patterns and begin to tell the time. Overall, children behave well. They share resources with their peers and staff encourage them to take turns. Staff use praise and encouragement and reinforce using good manners.

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

• Staff work together to plan a curriculum that builds on children's knowledge and previous experiences. They include children's interests and plan activities to help children to develop new skills to prepare them for their future learning. Staff use observations, monitor children's progress and identify their next steps in learning. This ensures that any gaps in children's development are addressed swiftly. All children make good progress.
• Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities well. They liaise with parents and contribute to education, health and care plans to meet children's individual needs. Leaders work in partnership with the local authority's inclusion team and use additional funding to provide extra resources. They use this to support children's development at the setting and to continue their learning at home with their families.
• Children enjoy a wealth of activities to support their communication and language development. In the baby room, staff provide back-and-forth interactions that support babies to copy sounds and develop their initial words. Staff introduce new vocabulary, engage children in conversations and ask questions. Together, they enjoy singing and sharing stories. This supports children to become confident communicators.
• Overall, staff role model the behaviour they expect well. They talk to children in a calm manner and provide reminders about following the rules. However, when children become upset or display disruptive behaviour, staff show an inconsistent approach to managing this. Staff do not support all children to gain an understanding of their emotions and how their behaviour can affect others.
• Partnerships with parents are well established. Most parents speak highly of the service the setting provides. They comment that their children have made progress with their language development and grown in confidence since starting the setting. Parents appreciate the wide range of experiences for their children and the ongoing communication about their progress.
• Staff promote a culture of diversity and inclusion across the setting. Children explore a range of religious and cultural festivals. This supports them to learn about their own uniqueness and develop an understanding and respect of others. Staff teach children songs about other cultures, share stories and use trips to enhance children's understanding of their local community and the wider world.
• Staff encourage children's self-care skills by encouraging them to wash their hands and make choices. However, at transition times, especially in pre-school room, staff focus on tidying away and noise levels become very high. This means that staff do not support children effectively to take responsibility for tasks or understand what is expected of them. This does not support children to extend their independence skills further.
• Robust recruitment procedures and staff induction processes are in place. This ensures that all staff are suitable to work with children and understand their roles and responsibilities. Leaders support staff with ongoing supervision and set targets. Staff access continued professional development to increase their knowledge. Leaders reflect and evaluate the service they provide and plan for future improvements.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen transition times to address the noise levels and build on children's independence and their level of responsibility as they help with tasks, especially in the pre-school room
• develop staff's understanding of supporting children to manage their behaviour through regulating and gaining a deeper understanding of their emotions.