Partou Tippy Toes Day Nursery & Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and enjoy their time at nursery. Staff are kind and nurturing. They eagerly greet children and their parents when they arrive, helping children to settle quickly. Leaders and staff have high expectations for all children. They have developed a curriculum which focuses on providing children with a wide range of opportunities and experiences within their local community to enhance children's learning. Children of all ages take part in regular outings in their community. Older children enjoy trips to the local care home, and staff take children to the fruit market and on walks to the shops or to the park.

Children benefit from lots of interesting and creative resources and activities that staff provide. Children enjoy playing imaginatively as they make their own concoctions in the garden to create their own 'strawberry smoothies'. They talk to their friends about what it might taste like and what else they can add. The younger children enjoy using bottles to spray paint and explore the marks that they make. Children are curious and keen to explore. They enjoy being outside and exploring the garden. They develop their confidence and strength as they climb and balance on the equipment and staff set them challenges. Children form good relationships with the staff and with their peers, and staff have high expectations for children's behaviour. Staff set clear routines and boundaries, and this helps children to know what to expect next.

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

• Staff know the children well. They assess children's progress to enable them to identify gaps in children's learning and to target their support. Staff use their knowledge of children's interests to provide activities and support children's engagement in learning. For instance, staff initiate play with children using the pretend fire station, as this is something that interests them. Children talk about what they remember from their visit to the fire station. They recall how the equipment is used and how they can get help in an emergency.
• Leaders have worked closely with the special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) to ensure that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) have targeted support. The SENCo works with parents and staff to put plans in place to meet children's individual needs. Staff have created a calming environment to use with children with SEND when they are feeling overwhelmed.
• Since the last inspection, leaders and staff have worked hard to make the necessary improvements to the provision. Leaders have worked with staff to create the curriculum based on what they want children to learn. Staff focus their curriculum on helping children to learn the skills that they need for the next stage of their learning. For instance, staff working with the youngest children focus on supporting children's language and communication skills. Children eagerly join in with repeating words and sounds and they enjoy copying familiar songs and rhymes. Leaders recognise that they need more focus on developing the implementation of the curriculum in the toddler room to further support children's listening and attention skills.
• Staff place a strong focus on supporting children to recognise their feelings and emotions. Older children learn to share and take turns with the resources independently. Children confidently use the 'sharing timers' to take turns with equipment and respond well to this. Children confidently talk about their emotions, recognising when something has made them angry, and staff reassure them and support them to make them feel better.
• Overall, partnerships with parents are strong and well established. Parents say that they like seeing the photos that staff send them of their children playing. They access information about children's sleep times and what they have eaten. Staff take time to speak to parents when they arrive to collect their children to inform them about their child's day. However, these partnerships could be developed further to involve parents in supporting their children's learning at home and create a shared approach to children's learning.
• Leaders and staff celebrate the diversity within their setting. They work with parents to learn about their families' cultures and to celebrate their individuality.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• continue to develop the implementation of the curriculum in the toddler room
• build on the good partnerships with parents to involve them more in supporting their children's learning at home.