One Nation Childcare

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children settle quickly in this welcoming setting. Good settling-in procedures mean that children have a good transition from home to the nursery. They form warm bonds with staff and arrive eager to explore the day's activities. Staff find out children's starting points through information they gather from parents and through their own observations. This means they plan the next steps in children's development effectively. Staff support children's emotional needs. For example, they cuddle and reassure children when they show they are tired or feeling a bit sad.

There are many languages spoken in the nursery. Staff are multi-lingual, so they communicate with children in their home language as well as English. This meets the diverse needs of the local community. Children's behaviour is excellent. Staff have clear ground rules that they share with children. For example, children understand that they need to use 'kind hands' and kind words. Staff give timely reminders to help children understand what will happen next. For instance, staff let children know they have five minutes left to play before they tidy up. Staff help children to learn about their different feelings. At group time, children can pick a cuddly prop that shows how they feel. Children say whether they feel happy or sad and can talk to staff about why they feel like this.

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

• The manager has developed a curriculum that widens children's experiences and builds on their knowledge and skills. Staff implement the curriculum well. They meet regularly to discuss each child's development and what they want them to learn next. This means each member of staff understands the children's development. Monthly, they share the key next steps with parents, so that they can continue children's learning at home.
• Staff chat with children gently and supportively. They listen carefully to children and repeat back words and sentences to help children speak clearly. They use picture cards to communicate with children during the day. For instance, they use the cards to help children choose what they would like to do. They use visual timetable cards that help children understand the routine and what will happen next. However, there are occasions where staff do not fully support children to work things out for themselves. This happens during activities, where staff are sometimes prescriptive in the outcome that they want. When they ask questions of children, they sometimes do not give children the time to work out an answer before they answer for them.
• Staff sing songs and rhymes and read books frequently with children. They share stories with children enthusiastically as they sit in a group. Children are eager to choose their own books and they snuggle up with staff on the floor as they look at them together. Staff provide plenty of opportunities for children to make marks. This is part of learning to write. Children use white boards and say what they have drawn. They use wipeable cards with their name on. Staff want children to learn to recognise the first letter of their name. This helps children to be well prepared for school.
• Staff ensure that they meet the needs of all children. The manager uses additional funding to purchase resources that directly support children's individual needs and development. For example, staff arrange trips out a couple of times a year, that teach children about a wider world. This helps children who do not access these types of activities. Children have visited a farm where they learned about the animals. They also learned about how animals grow. They have observed how chicks develop in the nursery. They were then able to see the chicks when they were fully grown, at the farm. This had a positive impact on children's speech and language development.
• Partnerships with parents are effective. Staff give a comprehensive update to parents about their children's time in the nursery when they collect their children. Parents get a termly report about what their child has achieved and what the staff will work on next term. Parents state that they are happy with the nursery. They like how settled their children are there.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen staff's understanding of how young children learn with a focus on letting children work things out for themselves.