Rainbows 2

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff in this nursery are attentive, nurturing and tuned into the individual needs of children. As a result, children make good progress in their development. Leaders have high aspirations for children's outcomes. They have embedded a secure curriculum to support children in all aspects of their development. The aims of this curriculum are well understood by all members of staff. As a result, staff plan stimulating experiences and activities for children, which are appropriately matched to the age and stage of every child.

Children engage well in the day-to-day experiences in this nursery. They show positive behaviours and attitudes in their play. This includes children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff encourage children to join in with care routines and, as a result, children develop independence in their personal care. The nursery has been impacted by difficulties in recruiting qualified staff. This has led to some instability and pressure across the staff team. However, leaders are hopeful that recent successful recruitment will now ease this pressure.

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

• Staff use their knowledge of each child's individual context, interests and stage of development to plan a curriculum that is well matched to their individual needs. Staff know which areas of development they need to focus on for each age group, in general terms and for individual children. For instance, when toddlers show an interest in using number names, staff provide block play and model number names as children build towers.
• Staff consider how to ensure that children show high levels of interest and engagement in activities. For instance, on a local outing, babies express their excitement as they enter the community garden. Staff encourage them to use their senses to explore the space around them. Babies are wide eyed in delight as they look around and say, 'Wow'.
• Staff use stories, songs and rhymes to support children's communication and language skills. For example, children and babies move rhythmically and join in with singing during a movement and music session. However, leaders and staff have not yet given enough thought to the impact that background noise can have when children are tuning into stories and speech. Additionally, staff do not always consider the impact that dummies have on limiting babies' participation and speech development, for instance, during singing sessions. This does not help children to consistently practise their early communication and listening skills.
• Staff support children with SEND with kindness and sensitivity. They spend quality time together, such as sharing books and exploring each page in detail. Staff are tuned into the developmental next steps for these children and keep this in mind during all their interactions. When they notice children making progress and meeting their milestones, staff demonstrate genuine joy and take time to celebrate these moments with the children.
• As a result of the strong bonds and connections that staff build with all children, including those with SEND, children thrive. Parents and carers state that their children have made impressive progress in their development since joining the nursery. They particularly appreciate the communication they receive from staff in relation to their children's progress.
• Staff are very effective role models for children in terms of the behaviours and attitudes they want children to develop. Due to the consistent approach in modelling and discussing good behaviours, these attitudes are well embedded across the nursery. Children move calmly from one activity to the next. When it is time to get ready for mealtimes, staff support children to learn how to wash their hands. Children line up smartly and understand how to take turns at the sink. This prepares children well for the transition to school in the future.
• As a result of difficulties in recruitment, leaders and managers are often required to work directly with children in order to maintain ratios and staff are borrowed from other settings within the company. Staff report that this has some impact on children, as they do not have the stability of a constant staff team. Furthermore, due to these pressures, leaders do not always have enough time to support managers and staff with their continuous professional development. That being said, all members of staff across the setting are relentless in their aim to continuously improve standards for children.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• extend the strategies to support children's communication and language strategies even further, so that children have every opportunity to practise their early communication and listening skills
• improve the procedures for staff support further, to ensure that all staff are fully supported in their roles, including a regular review of their workload.