Parkview Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

As children and parents arrive at the nursery, staff greet them with warm smiles. Children happily separate from their parents. Children of all ages are appropriately encouraged by staff to be independent. Babies learn to feed themselves, toddlers are supported to serve their own meals and pre-school children pour their own drinks. As pre-school children pour their drinks, they notice numbers written on the jug. With support from the staff, children read the numbers and count in twos up to ten. Children demonstrate their understanding about the natural world. They eagerly show visitors to the nursery the sunflowers that they have grown. Staff question the children and encourage them to recall that the sunflowers needed sun, water and soil for food in order to grow.

Children demonstrate good levels of concentration. Staff provide children with plenty of opportunity to strengthen the muscles in their hands. Toddlers squeeze, flatten and roll play dough using their fingers. Pre-school children draw and make marks with purpose. Staff encourage children to talk about the pictures that they have drawn. Children add to their illustrations to create a book and narrate the events in their story. Staff take on the role of characters the children have created and follow children's directions to act the story out.

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

• The management team have made significant changes since the last inspection. Staff receive ongoing supervision and support to help them understand the curriculum intention and improve their teaching practice. However, staff's implementation of the curriculum is variable. At times, staff over direct children's play or ask the children too many questions in quick succession, without giving them the time they need to think and respond.
• Staff meet children's emotional needs well. They work with parents prior to the child starting nursery to find out about the child's development, normal routines, interests and any comfort needs. Staff ask parents about the child's family life, background and experiences. Where children speak English as an additional language, staff gain key words in the child's home language. Staff use the information they gain to plan settling-in sessions to support children's transition into the nursery. When the time comes for children to move between rooms within the nursery, or on to school, staff work with parents effectively to support the child with these transitions.
• Children listen intently to stories being read. Staff use children's love of books to extend their learning. They support the pre-school children to act out one of their favourite books by going on a bear hunt. Staff encourage children to recall the events in the story and correctly predict what happens next. Children use familiar lines from the story as they act it out. Upon finding a bear hidden in a cave, rather than being scared and running away from it, the children use their imaginations well to create a new ending to the story. They decide to invite the bear for a tea party.
• Staff promptly recognise the signs that some children may need additional help and support with their learning or development. They work alongside parents to implement targeted support and make referrals to appropriate professionals for additional guidance. The manager and staff ensure that additional funding, such as early years pupil premium, is used effectively to benefit the children who receive it.
• Overall, staff promote children's physical development well. They encourage pre-school children to learn how to use the peddles on tricycles to make them move forward. Staff praise children and motivate them to keep trying. They complete risk assessments to ensure that the nursery environment is a safe place for children to play. However, staff do not always make the most of opportunities to help children learn how to keep safe by assessing risk for themselves.
• Staff support children to share and take turns with toys and equipment. When children have minor conflict over the train track, staff quickly step in and encourage children to work together to build the track. Staff praise children when they see them displaying kind respectful behaviour towards their friends.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• deepen staff's understanding around how to implement the curriculum, to support children to make the progress they are capable of
• develop the curriculum for physical development further to ensure that children are learning to recognise risk and understand how to manage this for themselves.