Playbox Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and settled at this calm and inclusive nursery. Familiar and enthusiastic staff greet them as they arrive, helping them to settle quickly. Children confidently hang up their things and enter the room ready to start their day. Staff are caring and gentle and form good bonds with the children. They provide many play opportunities for children to build positive friendships with their peers. Children excitedly talk about their 'best friends' and thoroughly enjoy spending time together.

Staff create a very calm atmosphere, which supports children to be happily engaged and highly focused throughout the day. They provide children with a wide range of activities and experiences, which they are keen to get involved with. Staff show genuine enthusiasm and excitement for the learning experiences they offer. For example, children delight in watching the nursery ducklings hatch, while staff eagerly teach them about the life cycle of a duck.

Staff plan an interesting curriculum to excite children and ignite their curiosity. They listen to children's ideas and interests and incorporate this into the learning experiences. Staff are good at encouraging children to think for themselves and to build on their independence skills. Children enjoy helping to set up activities for their friends and learn important social skills, such as taking turns and sharing resources. Staff provide various group times throughout the day, supporting children to learn valuable skills for moving on to school.

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

• Since the last inspection, the nursery is now under new ownership. The new owners have high expectations and a clear vision for the future. They are passionate about providing a high-quality early years provision. The new owners have invested time in supporting staff to feel included in decisions about the future of the nursery, such as the new outdoor 'forest' area. All staff say that they feel well supported and valued as part of the team.
• Staff complete regular assessments of children's development and identify individual targets for each child. They use this information to plan experiences that support children to make progress in their learning. The activities provided are available to children of all ages. While children do fully engage and enjoy them, sometimes staff do not always consider how to support the different abilities of the children taking part. As a result, at times the activities do not fully extend some of the most-able children's learning.
• Staff support children's communication and language skills well. They speak clearly and slowly, emphasising new vocabulary for children to learn. Staff use various additional strategies for children who have language delays, such as small-group time, and simple sign language. They use a range of vocabulary and regularly introduce children to new words. For example, children learn the words 'habitat, incubator' and 'hatch' when observing the ducklings.
• Children behave very well and treat each other with kindness. Staff form a close team and work well together to model friendships based on respect and trust. Children exclaim with joy and excitedly ask staff to come and see how well their friends are doing on the obstacle course. Furthermore, they caringly tell staff when their friends are hurt so they can 'make them better'.
• Staff treat each child as an individual and nurture and support them all to reach their full potential. They deliver small focused group activities to help close the gaps in children's learning. Furthermore, staff support quieter children by giving them extra responsibilities and involvement in daily routines. For example, children take pride in helping to set out activities for their friends. All children are encouraged to vote for things they would like, such as stories and songs. This supports all children to have a sense of belonging and high self-esteem.
• Leaders and staff use additional funding effectively to ensure children who are entitled receive the support they need. Through regular observations, staff identify areas where some children require additional support, such as emotional regulation and language development. Staff skilfully implement strategies and provide resources to help these children feel safe and secure. As a result, children in receipt of additional funding thrive in this nurturing setting.
• Partnerships with parents are strong. Parents comment that the new owners are approachable and respond to any communication promptly. Staff provide parents with regular updates about their children's learning via an online platform and share ideas for home learning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review and improve the planning of activities to more fully support children, particularly the most-able children, to further extend their learning.