Rhymes Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and feel safe in this close-knit, family-oriented nursery. They get all the cuddles they need from attentive staff, who know them so well. Children are gaining in confidence and behave well. Staff at the nursery act as positive role models and provide children with clear boundaries. This ensures that children know what is expected of them.

All children benefit from a range of activities, indoors and outdoors, that support their physical development. For example, young children enjoy learning to navigate age-appropriate vehicles. Excited toddlers dance to the 'floor is lava' as they learn to move slowly and quickly, in tune to the music. Older children enjoy playing the 'bean game,' and jump, hop and spin. Children of all ages show lots of confidence to move in different ways. They are developing a positive attitude towards following an active lifestyle.

Children enjoy listening to stories individually, in small and in larger groups. They develop a love of books as they recall rhyming sentences from well-known stories. For example, pre-school children recite words from a particular favourite book, 'Supertato.' Children link the story to prior learning, when they planted vegetables in the garden and printed with peas in paint. Children are curious and keen to learn. They find what is taught interesting and this helps ensure they remember what they have learned.

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

• The dedicated manager shows a good commitment to the professional development of her team. Staff meet regularly with the manager for supervision meetings. This helps to support staff's practice, professional development and to identify any additional training needs. The manager and provider place a high priority on the well-being of staff. As a result, staff feel valued and enjoy working at the nursery.
• Staff have worked hard during the COVID-19 pandemic. Parents comment on the dedicated staff team at particularly challenging times. Staff made many changes to the setting to offer children a homely, yet stable learning environment. For example, out of hours 'show arounds' were offered to new children and parents.
• Overall, staff have established a broad curriculum. Staff show a good knowledge of children's individual learning needs. They assess children's progress accurately and ensure that the curriculum they offer builds securely on what children need to know next. However, on occasions, staff do not give children enough time to consider their responses to questions. For example, they ask one question and then ask a further question rather than waiting for the child to respond. This means at times, some children do not have opportunities to express their own ideas, experiment and consolidate their understanding and skills.
• Staff are warm and caring to children and pride themselves on creating a home-from-home environment. All children have a key person. Staff understand the importance of this role in helping children build attachments and feel safe and secure. This helps children and their parents to feel a real sense of belonging right from the start.
• Good arrangements are in place to support children who speak English as an additional language. Staff find out about children's home language vocabulary. They use visual picture prompts and simple signing, to support young children's language development.
• Staff actively seek support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They have detailed knowledge of the very specific needs of each child. Staff work closely with parents, other settings children also attend, and a range of outside agencies, to agree and constantly update individual care plans. The manager uses the money from additional funding well to provide experiences for children that support their learning. Parents speak very positively about the support they and their children receive and the progress their children are making.
• The manager and staff use their local contacts extremely well to help children begin to understand different people and the world around them. They invite a variety of visitors into the nursery, to give children rich learning experiences. In addition, they arrange outings into the community. For example, children enjoyed visits from the police and dental hygienist and take trips to the local town on the bus, to visit the library.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• give children an appropriate amount of time to consider their responses to questions.