Peekaboo Day Nursery Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The manager greets parents and children warmly when they arrive at the nursery. They engage in conversation, which makes them feel valued and welcomed. Staff create warm and nurturing relationships with children. The nursery has a good range of resources that support children's development in all areas of learning.

Children choose which activities they wish to participate in. This promotes their independence and sense of self. Staff provide positive role modelling. This supports children to behave well. They share resources and ensure that all their friends are included in their play.

Leaders have designed a curriculum that supports children to become confident learners and communicators. They have the same ambitions for all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff plan a variety of experiences based on children's interests. For example, children enjoy the morning 'wake and shake' activity. This supports their physical development and helps them to learn new songs.

Children have a good understanding of health and hygiene. They are provided with a healthy diet and regular opportunities for physical, active play. This gives clear and consistent messages to children about making healthy choices.

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

• Staff support children's personal, social and emotional development. They encourage children to interact well with their friends and learn the daily routines. Children confidently make decisions about their activities and develop their independence. For example, they put their coats away, take off their shoes and store their bags on pegs and help tidy up.
• Children show curiosity and readily approach staff to join in with activities. Staff encourage all children to take part. They suggest alternatives to children who do not want to participate. Children have good conversations with each other. They develop secure relationships with each other and staff. They chat with staff while making play dough animal shapes. Staff ask questions that do not require a limited answer. They show a genuine interest in what children talk about. However, on occasion, staff do not consistently ask questions that help extend children's learning.
• Children learn about making healthy choices. Staff teach them about healthy and unhealthy foods and how these can affect their teeth. Children confidently explain which fruit and vegetables are healthy and also know it is okay to have some unhealthy foods. Children enjoy spending time outside in the garden. They make an obstacle course, climb or ride on bicycles, as well as playing games with their friends and staff. This helps them to make good progress in their physical development.
• Staff understand the importance of ensuring that children are well prepared for their transition to school. They focus on key skills, such as promoting independence and developing children's small-muscle skills. Staff work closely with local schools, sharing important information about the children. They provide opportunities for children to meet their teachers, aiding a smooth transition as they move to the next stage of their education.
• Staff assess and review what children know and can do. However, this information is not consistently used to plan activities that build upon children's skills. For example, older children in the baby room are not always challenged enough. Information about children's progress is not always shared with all staff. This means that they do not consistently provide activities that help children make the best possible progress of which they are capable.
• Leaders have high expectations of their team. They are committed to improving staff skills through training. For example, staff have attended training to learn to deal with trauma therapy in children.
• Parent partnership is a strength of the nursery. Strong, trusting and informative relationships are built with parents, who report positively about the nursery. They state their children have come along in leaps and bounds since attending the nursery.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to consistently make better use of their interactions in order to challenge all children's thinking and extend their learning
• further develop staff's use of assessment to plan learning opportunities that support individual children's next steps in learning.