Playdays Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children show high levels of emotional security, confidence and self-esteem. They arrive happily at Playdays Nursery and settle very quickly. This is because children receive a warm welcome from staff, who speak to them in a gentle and reassuring manner. Children enjoy spontaneous cuddles and positive interactions with staff, which supports their emotional well-being effectively.

Children learn how to play safely. As a result, they are able to share resources and play cooperatively. For instance, toddlers take turns as they crawl, climb, jump and balance on the outdoor apparatus. During a dance session indoors, they are good at following and listening to instructions from adults. This enables toddlers to enjoy and move freely to music and action songs. For example, they exercise their arms and legs and wiggle their bodies with increasing confidence.

Children respond positively to the high expectations from staff. For instance, even babies and very young children learn to feed themselves at mealtimes. This is highly successful in supporting children's independence skills.

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

• The provider and manager work well together as a team. They include the views of other professionals and parents to help evaluate the quality of the provision. Recent changes include improvements in the indoor environments to support children's various physical development.
• Parents cannot praise the nursery highly enough. They especially appreciate staff's genuine care and concern for their children. The communication between parents and staff is also effective. This strong partnership enables children to receive continuity of learning.
• The manager provides staff with good levels of support and guidance to develop their teaching practice. For example, following training, staff have considered the impact that background noise is having on children's ability to learn. This has had a positive impact on children's concentration and behaviour. However, the support and training are not focused sharply to identify how individual staff can raise their teaching to the highest level.
• Staff put a strong emphasis on building relationships with children and their families. For example, they carry out home visits and make effective use of the information to plan various activities. This motivates children to learn and play well.
• Staff provide children with healthy meals and snacks. However, not all staff are consistent with teaching children about healthy habits. For example, occasionally, they forget to remind children to wash their hands before handling food. This does not fully promote children's good health.
• Staff provide children with a curriculum which is broad and balanced. They help children to acquire the skills and knowledge they need to prepare them for school. For example, staff narrate children's play, read books and sing songs to develop children's language skills. Children are progressing well from their various starting points.
• Staff observe and assess children's learning effectively. They are quick to identify and refer any additional needs children may have. This ensures that children and their parents get the support they need.
• Children behave well. This is because staff model good behaviour. For example, they show kindness, use polite words and encourage children to form positive friendships.
• Children learn about similarities and differences between people. For example, they see pictures of themselves and other children with their families on display. Children also learn about the community in which they live. They experience various cultural and religious celebrations in the setting, such as Diwali and Chinese New Year.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• extend the opportunities for individual staff to engage in targeted professional development to raise the quality of teaching to the highest level
• enhance staff's understanding of hygiene practices, with particular reference to washing hands before mealtimes.