Rainbow Lodge

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and secure while supported by nurturing staff. Children build lovely bonds with staff, who are quick to comfort and distract them when they become unsettled. In particular, babies are sensitively supported and cared for. Staff consistently talk to them and provide reassurance. Children develop a sense of belonging from an early age.

Children behave well. They follow the nursery routine and help to tidy up after themselves. Staff encourage this good behaviour by using regular and specific praise. They praise children for listening and for helping their friends. Children learn a sense of what is right and wrong.

Children remember what they learn over time. They recall familiar books and make links to when they have seen ducks on local walks. Staff provide opportunities for children to talk together in groups about what they have heard and seen outdoors. Children benefit from many opportunities to develop their language and communication skills. Staff repeat words back to children when they do not quite get it right. They encourage children to develop their listening skills by listening carefully to sounds outdoors and indoors, as well as taking turns to listen at carpet time.

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

• The manager works with staff to provide a varied curriculum for children. They use what they know about children through their observations to consider what further skills and knowledge they want children to learn. Staff understand how young children learn and have developed their own knowledge and skills. This is helping all children to make steady progress in their learning.
• Staff consider how children of different ages and stages learn. They sequence children's learning as they develop their fine motor skills. For example, children start by using medium tweezers to collect items out of a tray and then move on to more intricate threading. Children in the pre-school room also practise picking up smaller items with tweezers. Staff say this is to help children build their muscles and grip in preparation for early writing.
• Staff support children to develop their physical skills. Babies enjoy outdoor play as they navigate steps and go down the slide. They use ride-along toys and practise riding bicycles. Staff blow bubbles, and children chase them around popping them as they go.
• Staff teach children to count and use numbers in their play, such as counting the number of children in the group and using number rhymes to embed this further. However, staff do not regularly introduce other mathematical concepts, such as shape, space and measure, during children's play. This sometimes limits children's opportunities to develop a wider range of mathematical skills and knowledge.
• Children are well prepared for the next stage in learning. For example, children who have recently moved to the toddler room from the baby room confidently follow the routine. They enthusiastically join in with group time with their peers. Children develop their independence from an early age, as they put on their own coats and shoes, wash their hands and serve their own lunch.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well supported. Staff work with parents and other agencies to set individual targets for children and set out how they will help them achieve these next steps in learning. Children with SEND make good progress alongside their peers.
• Parents say that staff support them to help their child at home, such as with their self-care and toilet training. Parents enjoy using an online system to see what their child is learning. This ensures a two-way flow of communication between parents and staff.
• Managers use supervision sessions to identify staff's development needs. They regularly observe staff's practice and provide feedback for staff. However, this is sometimes too focused on activities rather than teaching. This does not ensure a thorough evaluation of whether all staff are skilled at delivering all aspects of the curriculum.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop staff's confidence and skills to teach children a wider range of mathematical concepts
• enhance existing performance management processes to carefully evaluate staff's teaching skills and provide focused areas for development.