Robins Nest Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff greet children warmly and welcome them inside. Children become quickly absorbed in the activities set up for them. Babies are settled and happy. They build close relationships with their key person. Staff play with babies in the inviting outdoor play area and sing nursery rhymes with them. Older children talk with staff about their families and activities at home. Children feel safe and secure.

Children demonstrate high levels of respect for one another. They play games in groups and welcome others into their activities. Staff promote this behaviour frequently. They remind children about the importance of being fair and kind. Children understand the instructions given to them. They happily tidy up their toys together when it is time for lunch. Children behave well.

Children are provided with a range of learning opportunities. They enjoy learning about different themes, which are thoughtfully created to follow children's interests. For example, staff set up a pretend ice-cream station because children have become excited about an ice-cream truck that drives past each day. Children play imaginatively as they scoop pretend ice cream into cones. Staff teach children to name the different colours and count to three as they scoop them up.

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

• Babies smile and giggle with staff, who know them well. They cuddle together and look at books in the outdoor area. Babies enjoy the sensory experience of playing in dry and wet sand. Staff model how to make sandcastles, which excites babies. Staff are responsive to their needs. For example, they recognise when babies are tired, and prepare them for a sleep. This promotes their emotional security.
• Staff actively increase children's independence. Older children confidently go to wash their hands before mealtimes. Staff support children to learn how to pour their own drinks and clear up after themselves. Children are proud of their accomplishments as they use a knife and fork with ease. Children develop important skills to prepare them for the next stage in their education.
• Leaders have created an ambitious curriculum. Staff understand this and create activities that focus on what children need to learn. For example, staff support children to access activities such as balancing beams to help increase physical skills and coordination. Occasionally, routines take staff away from learning interactions with children. At times, this means that staff do not recognise when to support children's learning as they are busy with other tasks, and children become less engaged. This does not consistently encourage positive attitudes to learning.
• Staff support children to develop their language skills. They sing together, and children learn the words to different rhymes and songs. Children look at books independently and talk to each other about the story and pictures. Children become confident communicators and begin to develop a love of reading.
• Leaders build partnerships with other professionals who work with children. Staff create strategies to support the families of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Leaders collaborate with speech and language therapists and implement plans to enhance children's learning. Furthermore, leaders work closely with local schools to support children's transitions. This enables children to receive a shared approach to their learning.
• Staff speak highly of the professional development opportunities available to them. Leaders meet with staff regularly and provide access to online training programmes. However, training is not always designed precisely, for example, to support staff in effectively adapting their teaching for all children. This means that, on occasion, children do not consistently benefit from teaching approaches that fully meet their needs.
• Parents are involved in their child's learning. This is because staff keep them informed about their progress. Parents know what their child is learning next, such as working on counting or learning about specific shapes. This supports parents to extend children's learning at home. Parent partnerships are strong.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review and improve the deployment of staff during daily routines, to more consistently support children's learning
• target staff training more precisely to support staff in recognising when to adapt their teaching.