Purple Jay East Dulwich

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enjoy their time in this friendly nursery. They settle well and develop secure attachments with their key person. Children demonstrate that they feel safe and secure as they confidently explore their environment and access their chosen learning. For example, younger children enjoy exploring foam with animals figures and older children choose their own books to read.

Children benefit from a range of resources and activities, both indoors and outdoors. This engages and motivates them to explore and learn. Children have regular access to the outdoor environment where they engage in physical play, and they are offered opportunities for safe risk taking. For instance, children climb and balance on crates with support from adults when needed. This demonstrates that practitioners understand how to build and promote children's confidence.

All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) progress well. Children with SEND receive support to meet their targets. Practitioners work with parents and the other professionals involved to ensure that there is a consistent approach. This supports their long-term learning outcomes.

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

• Practitioners know their key children well. They observe children to monitor their development and plan how to progress them on to their next steps in learning. Practitioners use children's interests to plan activities that support them in all areas of development.
• Practitioners engage with children in a range of interesting activities. They support children to build on what they already know. For example, during a planting activity, practitioners listen to children's personal experiences and ask questions about plants and seeds. They use this information to extend this knowledge further through meaningful discussions while planting the seeds.
• Practitioners speak clearly to the children and repeat what they say with the correct pronunciation. Practitioners give children time to speak and listen intently to what they say. This has a positive impact on children's communication and language development.
• Practitioners encourage children's early mathematics skills by modelling mathematical language. For instance, when reading stories, practitioners encourage children to count items and name numbers on the pages. This develops children's counting and number recognition.
• Children are offered a range of healthy meals that meet their individual dietary requirements. Some practitioners promote good hygiene routines and wipe children's noses and support them to wash their hands. However, this practice is not followed by all staff. This means children do not consistently learn good hygiene procedures.
• Children learn about different cultures in various ways. Practitioners gather information from parents about their culture and traditions. They celebrate different festivals that reflect the children who attend the setting and invite parents in to read stories in their home language. This helps children to develop a positive sense of self and a respect for differences and diversity.
• Overall, children behave well. They play cooperatively with each other and follow practitioners' instructions. Practitioners promote respect and positive behaviour by encouraging children to say 'please' and 'thank you'. However, they do not consistently support children to speak about how they feel or resolve their own conflicts. This does not help children to learn about the impact their actions have on others.
• The deployment of staff is not always managed well, meaning less-experienced staff may be left to work alone for short periods of time. Practitioners are aware of what to do if they need to raise the alarm in the event of an accident. Leaders acknowledge that this is an area of further improvement. This does not impact on children's well-being.
• Leaders understand the importance of supporting practitioners' continuous professional development. Practitioners are provided with a range of training opportunities to help them meet the needs of the children. They are supported to achieve their qualifications. Practitioners enjoy their work and feel supported by the leaders.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• build on behaviour strategies to support children's understanding of feelings and emotions and how their behaviour impacts others
• strengthen hygiene routines so they are consistently adhered to and hygiene standards are of the highest quality
• enhance staff deployment and the organisation of daily routines to further support the care and learning needs of children.