Paintpots Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enjoy attending this welcoming nursery. They benefit from a friendly and engaging environment, which enables them to feel safe and secure. Staff gather pertinent information when children first start at the nursery. They utilise this information to help children settle and plan for their progress. A successful key-person system pays particular attention to helping children form strong and secure attachments, so that they are prepared well for learning.

Staff have high expectations of what children can achieve. They plan meaningful activities based on children's interests and what they already know and can do. Information about children's next steps in learning are frequently shared with parents. The curriculum is sequenced throughout and when children reach the pre-school room staff focus on school readiness, preparing children effectively for school.

Staff are positive role models and help children to learn about the boundaries and expectations within the nursery. They model polite and kind behaviour and are patient in their approach. Children behave well and learn to manage their feelings. They are kind and considerate to one another. For example, at lunchtime, children take on the task of serving potatoes to all of their friends seated at the table. Children learn important skills such as responsibility, as they help to care for the nursery's tortoise 'Shelly'.

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

• The well-resourced play areas help to motivate children's interests. Children freely make choices in how and where they play, enabling them to follow their own ideas. Staff help children to become inquisitive learners. Children show curiosity and high levels of fascination. For example, children enjoy bug hunting in the garden and learning where food comes from.
• Staff support children's physical development well. For example, children enjoy manipulating play dough, sand and water. They play with balls, ride wheeled toys, balance on climbing resources, run and jump. Older children enjoy participating in yoga sessions and move their bodies confidently.
• Staff provide highly effective support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Robust partnerships with other agencies ensure that children quickly receive the support they need. This helps children to excel from their starting points and supports a shared and consistent approach to children's learning and development.
• Overall, staff support children's developing communication skills. They provide a running commentary as children play and introduce new words. However, babies and toddlers often have their dummies unnecessarily, which can impact on their speech development. Furthermore, while some staff ask thought-provoking questions, children are not always given time to respond to develop their language skills even further.
• Lunchtime is a social occasion, where children develop their independence skills. However, occasionally, the organisation of lunchtime routines means that children wait for prolonged periods. Additionally, some children wander around and this causes disruption to others. Delays in the completion of housekeeping tasks, such as sweeping the floor, mean that the transition into other activities is not always managed effectively.
• Staff skilfully incorporate numbers, counting, shape and size into everyday activities and promote children's early mathematical skills well. Older children discuss the characteristics of a triangle, noting that is has three sides. Younger children use mathematical language as they fill containers in the sand and water areas.
• Children enjoy listening to stories and singing their favourite songs. Early writing skills are emerging as children make marks and begin to write their own name. Older children are able to recognise and link letters and sounds.
• The nursery is well led and teamwork among the dedicated staff is strong. All members of staff strive to ensure that children do as well as they can. The well-being of staff is given high regard. Staff benefit from detailed supervision sessions and observations of their practise. There is a comprehensive training plan in place, which helps to improve outcomes for children, as staff continually develop their knowledge and skills.
• Partnerships with parents are very effective. There is regular information sharing with parents to ensure children's care and learning needs are met. Parents speak very highly of the nursery and the quality of care given to their children.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• help staff to develop a greater understanding of children's communication and language development, with particular regard to the use of dummies and effective questioning techniques
• review the organisation of mealtime routines, to ensure that all children remain engaged and benefit from smooth transitions to the next activity.