Rock A Tots (UK) Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children show that they feel safe and secure. They put their arms out to staff when they arrive in the morning and enter with big smiles. All children enjoy positive relationships with kind and attentive staff. Pre-school children are polite and respectful. They tell each other 'sharing is caring'. Toddlers learn good manners from staff and say 'please' when they ask for something. Staff teach babies how to say 'thank you' by using hand signs. Babies copy these and use them when communicating with staff.

There is a well-designed curriculum that successfully builds on children's personal, social and emotional development. Children gain a wider understanding of their emotions and other people's feelings. For example, pre-school children look at 'emotion pebbles' to help explain how they feel. Staff provide meditation sessions and 'sound baths' for pre-school children to help promote good mental health. As a result, staff notice that these children learn to self-regulate their emotions.

Parents comment that their children make good progress at the nursery. They can see the difference the setting makes to their children's development. For example, children sing songs at home that they have learned at nursery. Staff inform parents what their children are working on next. Parents enjoy receiving updates on their children's development and how they can support their children's learning at home.

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

• Babies display high levels of well-being. They choose to sit with staff and listen to a storybook. Staff encourage babies to feel different textures in the book. Babies enjoy the sensory experience. They try to name animals they can see in the book, and staff repeat the correct word. Staff acknowledge their interest and extend this experience. They sing a song about animals. At other times, older babies play 'hide and seek' with staff. They show great delight as they run up to staff and say 'again, again'.
• Children are independent. Babies gain confidence in their self-care skills. Staff teach them how to use a flannel to clean their face. Babies practise this and develop better hand-eye coordination. Toddlers know the rules and routines of the day. They independently scrape their plates after lunch and collect their dessert. Pre-school children self-serve themselves breakfast. Later, they choose if they would like a 'big spoon' or a 'little spoon' of lunch. These children know that their voice is important and are confident in making choices.
• Pre-school children accept a challenge and design an obstacle course. They show good levels of concentration. These children plan how many hoops they will jump through and the direction of the cones to weave in and out of. They strengthen their knowledge of numbers and count how many jumps they take.
• Pre-school children show resilience as they do this. If they fall, they get back up and try again.
• Toddlers gather together and hear staff read a story. They enjoy listening to staff use varied voices to represent different characters. Toddlers look at props and items from a story sack. This keeps some toddlers engaged. However, staff do not always manage group activities to keep all toddlers focused, so they can extend their learning further. For example, during some group times, activities go on for too long and toddlers become fidgety and disengage.
• Pre-school children follow instructions well. For example, staff ask them to help take the books inside when it starts to rain. These children collect the books and tidy them away. They say 'good job' to each other and work cooperatively. Staff thank them for helping, and these children show good levels of self-esteem.
• Leaders identify professional development opportunities for staff to improve their practice. Staff attend training on music for under two-year-olds. Following this, they introduce 'song sticks' for babies. Staff notice that babies learn more single words. However, at times, staff do not develop all toddlers' communication and language skills as well. Toddlers are not always able to learn new vocabulary or communicate effectively. For example, sometimes staff speak quickly, and toddlers are not able to hear new words. At other times, staff do not support toddlers with limited language to express their needs clearly.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• manage group activities to keep all toddlers focused, so they can extend their learning further
• develop staff's knowledge and understanding of how to develop all toddlers' communication and language skills, so toddlers can learn new vocabulary and communicate effectively.