Rainbows Day Care and Gateway to FMA

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The nursery belongs to a company that promotes children's physical activity and, consequently, there is a focus on providing opportunities for children to develop their physical skills. Children access both the soft-play equipment and the gymnastic apparatus on site every day, which helps them to grow their abilities in gross motor movement. In addition, there are large spaces for children to use ride-on equipment and take part in music and movement. Staff teach children the benefits of physical exercise and promote a healthy lifestyle.

Staff adopt a clear vision for the nursery where they endeavour to create independent, confident learners in all the children who attend. Children are keen to enter the nursery and engage in the wide range of opportunities staff offer. Children are happy, and they settle quickly. Staff gain important information from home to support the transition into the nursery and build effective relationships with their key children and their families. This nurtures children's well-being.

Children behave well. They demonstrate good understanding of the nursery rules and know what staff expect of them. Staff support this by using emotion cards and visual timetables, stepping in if younger children sometimes need reminding of the rules. This contributes to the environment being calm, particularly during transitions. For example, children move from group learning time to wash their hands and sit down for lunch with limited support from staff.

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

• There is a fully embedded observation and assessment process throughout the nursery. Staff identify next steps in learning for children through regular observations, and they update these when children achieve their goals. The curriculum is ambitious for all children, and staff have high expectations of what they want children to learn. This means that children make good progress from their starting points.
• Staff respond effectively to children's learning interests, and then provide experiences that will continue their curiosity. For example, after celebrating National Bee Day, children participate in an activity making flapjack using honey. Children are excited and keen to join in and demonstrate positive attitudes towards their learning.
• There is an emphasis on developing children's independence skills in this nursery. Younger children collect their own plates and cutlery from the lunch trolley, while older children pour their own milk and serve their own lunch. All children are encouraged to wash their hands and put on their wellies independently.
• Staff interact positively with children. They offer praise and narrate what is happening to support children's communication and language development. However, sometimes staff do not consistently ask questions to challenge children's thinking to extend their learning even more. This means that, occasionally, some teachable moments are missed.
• Staff provide children with the opportunities to build on their existing experiences by immersing them into the local community. They go on local walks every day and visit shops on the same site. For example, recently, children have taken the nursery rabbits to the vets to have a check-up and furthered their knowledge of how to care for them.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are given the support they need to make rapid progress. Staff are knowledgeable about typical child development and quickly identify where any additional support is required. Staff offer support to the whole family by suggesting strategies to implement at home and make referrals collaboratively to outside agencies where necessary.
• Leaders are passionate about the well-being of staff. Regular supervision meetings ensure that professional discussions are taking place, allowing staff the time to talk about children's learning or their own training needs. Staff also regularly contribute to the overall development plans for the nursery. Leaders want to continually improve the service and experiences they offer children and families.
• Parents are extremely positive about the support they receive from staff. They comment on the guidance and advice given when they have any questions. They remark on the progress their children have made since starting at the nursery. Parents appreciate being kept up to date with their children's progress and next steps in learning. They particularly like the facilities with access to the gymnastics equipment.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to extend children's learning even further by asking questions that challenge children's thinking and encourage them to recall previous learning, so that all teachable moments are utilised.