Purple Lion Day Nursery Wapping

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happy and ready to start their day at this caring and nurturing nursery. Staff know children very well. When children first start, staff take time to learn about their interests, home lives and stages of development. This helps children to settle in comfortably. There is a true sense of love and kindness in the nursery, and staff are dedicated in making every child feel included and seen.

Leaders and staff have high expectations for all children. They collaborate with parents and other professionals to offer personalised support for children with developing needs. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make good progress. Staff follow an ambitious curriculum, which focuses on what children need to learn next and prepares them well for transition to school. Children show great excitement and curiosity as they explore the wide range of activities and experiences that are available to them. For example, older children proudly declare, 'I did it. I cut it,' when cutting vegetables and fruits in the outdoor role-play kitchen. Staff are positive role models. Overall, children's behaviour is good. Children care about their friends a great deal. For example, without prompting, children help their friends with their coats when getting ready to go outside. Staff have a calm approach, and they praise and celebrate children's success consistently. There are many 'high fives' and proud smiles throughout the nursery.

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

• Leaders have a clear drive to deliver high-quality care. They provide many professional development opportunities for staff to further support the needs of children. Staff speak highly of recent training to support children to be independent and the positive impact this has had on their practice. Staff's well-being is a priority of the nursery. Leaders work hard to empower all staff and create a respectful team, who feel valued.
• Children demonstrate their strong independence skills throughout the nursery. Older children carefully clear their plates and wipe their faces after eating lunch. They skilfully put on their own shoes before going outside. Babies confidently explore their environment, carefully selecting different activities from the shelves to play with.
• Staff support children's communication and language skills well. They provide a narrative as children play and introduce new vocabulary. Babies babble back and forth with the staff team. This helps their early communication skills. Songs and nursery rhymes play a big part of the curriculum. Staff skilfully match songs to activities. For example, when children are happily blowing bubbles, staff start to sing the 'bubble' song with them.
• Staff plan a well-thought-out curriculum, which captures children's interests. For example, children show determination as they use tongs to collect 'minibeasts' from the tray in the garden. They are curious as they mix different ingredients together to create a volcano and declare that it feels 'slimy'. Staff provide children with many opportunities to learn new skills. However, occasionally, staff do not always provide opportunities for children to test out their own ideas and extend their own critical thinking skills.
• Children have many opportunities to learn about the world around them. For instance, recent trips to the local fire station help children to learn about people who help us. Parents are welcomed into the nursery to share their different faiths and cultures. Staff explore different festivals throughout the year with children, which helps children to gain an understanding of others and their own uniqueness.
• Leaders and staff are dedicated in encouraging children to lead healthy lifestyles. Children show a strong awareness of oral health during group activities. They carefully 'brush' the model teeth and explain, 'It is good to brush our teeth.' Children spend a lot of time outside, getting plenty of exercise and fresh air. They demonstrate their strong physical development, as they independently put their gardening gloves on and start to prepare bulbs to be planted.
• Staff use some effective ways to promote children's good behaviour. For example, staff remind children of 'walking feet' and 'gentle hands' when children occasionally struggle to regulate their behaviour. However, staff do not always teach children the reasons why these rules and behaviours are important. Therefore, children do not always build on their understanding of rules and boundaries to help them to regulate their actions independently.
• Partnerships with parents are strong. Parents comment that the staff are 'caring and loving'. They value the opportunities they have to spend time in the nursery, such as Valentines Day breakfast. Parents receive regular and in-depth communications and are fully involved in their children's learning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen opportunities to extend children's learning so that they consistently have time to think critically for themselves
• promote further children's understanding of the rules and boundaries in the setting and why these are important, so they develop their knowledge of how to behave and keep themselves safe.