Pebbles Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff have worked hard to make this nursery an inviting and welcoming place for children to play and enjoy their learning. The setting follows the curiosity approach to learning, encouraging children to learn through exploration and discovery. Babies enjoy plenty of sensory play as they explore treasure baskets, sand and straw. Toddlers and pre-schoolers get to use and explore a variety of real-life resources, such as ornaments and crockery. They quickly learn to respect their environment and the things in it when they learn that these resources are more fragile than plastic and cannot be played with again once broken.

Children build close relationships with staff. They show that they feel secure as they explore their environment happily. They behave well and follow instructions. Staff are good role models of the behaviour they expect. They support children to learn about their emotions and to talk about how they are feeling. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, are well supported by the caring and nurturing staff to make the progress they are capable of. Any additional funding the setting receives is used to support children's individual needs effectively.

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

• Those in higher management, such as the nominated individual, are very involved in the setting. They are just as passionate as the on-site management team about the care and learning that staff provide. This good oversight means that improvements to the provision are identified and acted upon quickly.
• Staff speak highly of the support they receive for their well-being. They say that they feel part of a family and are supported to carry out their roles and responsibilities effectively. Staff engage well with opportunities to enhance their professional skills. However, the arrangements for the induction and support for agency staff are not fully effective to provide consistency in children's learning experiences.
• The nursery staff place a strong focus on supporting their community. For example, they are aware that families from a number of different backgrounds attend the nursery. Consequently, staff have been encouraging these families into the nursery to share recipes and help children learn about different cultures. The nursery provides resources for parents to support oral health and has plans in place to develop its own food bank and clothing 'swap shop'.
• Parents are well supported by staff. They receive a wealth of information to support their child's development, such as guidelines about weaning and safer sleep. Staff ensure that parents receive good information about their children's learning and how to support them at home. Parents comment that the staff are friendly and approachable and that there is a clear connection between the staff and children. Parents thoroughly appreciated the recent bonfire night tea, where they were invited in to enjoy hot chocolate, sparklers and stories with their children.
• There is an effective key-person system in place. Staff know their children well and form close bonds with them. Staff meet children's care needs successfully. For example, they cuddle babies as they enjoy their bottle, giving lots of eye contact.
• Staff thoughtfully plan for children's learning and development. The learning environment is well designed, supporting children's interests and encouraging independent choices. Staff are working on sustained shared thinking, and overall, their interactions with children are of good quality. However, at times, staff do not make the most of opportunities to have in-depth conversations with children and extend their learning.
• Children have plenty of opportunities to play outside in the fresh air. They develop their physical skills as they race around on bikes, climb up the climbing frame and go down the slide. Children learn to take controlled risks. For example, they work out how to safely place a wooden plank across a tyre so that they can walk across it.
• Children enjoy home-cooked, healthy meals prepared by the nursery chef. They develop independence as they serve their own food and scrape their plates afterwards. Children also learn about nutrition as they take part in cooking activities with the chef.
• Staff help children to learn how to interact with others and develop their social skills in preparation for school. Children work well together, such as working out how to build a large house out of wooden blocks. They happily help with tasks, such as tidying up, which helps them to gain a sense of responsibility.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen the induction procedures and support for temporary/agency staff to promote consistency in children's learning experiences
• support staff to further develop their good interactions with children so that they make the most of opportunities to have in-depth conversations with children and extend their learning.