Puddle Ducks

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Leaders and staff create a warm and friendly learning environment for all children. As children and their families arrive, staff talk to them about how they are feeling and discuss the day ahead. They show a genuine interest in what children are saying as they welcome them into the setting. Staff respond swiftly to those children who may need extra support. They know the children very well, and this helps them to support children's emotional needs effectively. Consequently, children feel safe, secure and settled in the nursery.

Children's behaviour is good. They demonstrate a secure understanding of the rules of the setting as they sit and revisit expected behaviours during carpet time. Staff support children to share and play together collaboratively. When minor disagreements occur, staff respond quickly and sensitively to support children in coming to a mutual resolution.

Staff provide children with activities that motivate and interest them. They work hard to create an engaging learning environment where children's needs and interests are prioritised. Children become engrossed as they use paint brushes and water to make marks on the fence. Staff are on hand to support children's learning skilfully. They encourage them to discuss the marks they have made, building on their growing vocabulary and developing their understanding that print carries meaning. For those children who show an interest in writing their name, staff model how to use the paint brush and water to form each letter correctly. As a result of interactions such as these, children make good progress from their starting points and develop a positive attitude towards their learning.

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

• Leaders and staff have devised a well-sequenced and balanced curriculum. They place a high focus on supporting children's personal, social and emotional development, which enables children to feel safe, secure and ready to learn. The curriculum is understood and implemented effectively across the nursery by the knowledgeable and enthusiastic staff.
• Staff provide children with a range of rich experiences to learn about the world around them. They organise visits to a local care home, where children take part in creative activities with the residents. In the setting, children experience weekly music sessions. They enjoy singing songs as a local musician introduces them to different instruments. As part of wider school events, children learn about people who help us, and they have opportunities to talk to visitors from the different emergency services. Experiences such as these help to support children's understanding of others and their local community.
• Staff provide children with opportunities to be independent. They encourage them to use the bathroom and to wash their hands independently. Children develop their physical skills as they pour their own drink and cut the fruit at snack time. However, staff sometimes do things for children that they can do themselves. This means that children do not consistently learn to be independent.
• Staff work with parents effectively to support children who speak English as an additional language. They implement innovative ways for children to communicate, using technology and resources. For example, children use 'sound boards' with words and phrases recorded in their home language to help them explain their needs to staff.
• Staff talk to children as they play, narrating their actions and introducing new and interesting words. For example, as children build volcanos in the sand, staff introduce words such as 'lava' as they talk about what happens when they erupt. Staff use questions to build on and extend children's learning. That said, occasionally, staff do not give children enough time to consider and respond to the questions they ask. Sometimes, they give children the answer to the questions asked or ask further questions in quick succession. This means that children are not consistently supported in demonstrating what they know, in order for staff to build even more precisely on their learning.
• Leaders are passionate and committed to delivering high-quality experiences for children. They work closely with the staff, discussing and evaluating the learning they provide for children on a daily basis. Leaders have a clear vision for continuous development and ongoing improvements, with a current focus on staff training. Staff feel highly valued by the leadership team.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to establish a more consistent approach to supporting children's developing independence skills
• support staff to build on their questioning techniques to give children time to think, solve problems and develop their language skills further.