Playdays

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are excited to arrive at the nursery. They play happily with their friends and explore stimulating activities together. Children are busy and their physical skills develop well. They enjoy playing in the garden where they throw and catch balls, play with sand and go down the slide.

Staff support children's emotional development particularly well. They interact with children in a warm and encouraging way. Staff and managers support children when they need more time to settle in. Children speak to staff who know them well and join in with their play. They have strong bonds with staff, who they go to for cuddles and reassurance.

Children learn how to share and take turns. They make choices. For example, children vote to choose what to play with or which snack to eat. As a result, children are learning to understand each other's likes and dislikes. They feel valued and behave well.

Children's mathematical skills develop extremely well. For example, children learn the days of the week and how to count on their fingers. Children concentrate well as they learn about numbers. Staff teach the children in an engaging and challenging way. All children are deeply engaged and try hard.

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

• Managers and staff share a clear vision for their curriculum. They plan activities that give children opportunities to develop a range of skills. Managers communicate to staff what they want the children to learn. As a result, children enjoy learning and gain knowledge.
• Staff deliver an ambitious curriculum. Children concentrate well because the curriculum is sufficiently challenging. Staff assess children's learning and identify their next steps. However, children's individual next steps are not always closely linked to planning. Consequently, some activities are not focused enough on individual children's learning to help them make consistently good progress in all areas.
• Children fall asleep in the calm environment of the nursery. As they wake up, adults smile and chat to them. Children feel secure and ready to learn.
• Staff interact with children purposefully. They understand that describing to children what they are doing supports their language development. For example, when children make patterns on paper, staff say, 'Wow, you made a circle.' Children mimic staff and rapidly learn new language.
• Staff understand that promoting children's independence in their care practices builds their self-esteem. Children wash their hands, scrape their plates and put their shoes on independently.
• Managers and staff realise that the COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on children's learning. They know that new children need more time to settle in to feel safe and secure. Parents receive regular updates after drop-off in the mornings. Consequently, children feel safe, and parents are reassured.
• Partnerships with parents are strong. Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the care their children receive. They report that children regularly use new vocabulary they have learned at nursery.
• Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities particularly well. Managers and staff work effectively in partnership with parents to source external support. As a result, children receive the help they need.
• Managers and staff are reflective of their practice. They regularly attend training to further their knowledge and skills. Managers make sure that knowledge gained from training is shared with all staff members.
• Staff plan enriching activities for children that help them to learn about the world around them. For example, they receive visits from an ice-cream man and a dentist. They hatch baby chicks at the nursery and watch them grow.
• Managers support staff well-being extremely well. They ensure that staff have sufficient breaks and talk to them about ways to improve support systems. Consequently, staff report high levels of enjoyment at work.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen planning to focus more closely on what children need to learn next and help them to make consistently good progress in all areas of learning.