Rockinghorse Daycare

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive at the nursery happy and eager to join their peers to play and explore. They receive a warm welcome from staff, which helps them to settle quickly. The strong relationships between the children and staff, promotes children's confidence and self-esteem. Children are confident communicators and are eager to engage in conversations as they play. Staff provide an exciting environment, which captures children's interest. For example, young children appear fascinated with a solar-powered water fountain. Through exploration they begin to understand that they can affect the flow by covering the panel.

Children behave well and show high levels of engagement in their play. Staff interact and facilitate children's play well to extend their learning. For instance, they engage in children's make-believe play about pirates by introducing a treasure hunt. All children excitedly join in the hunt. They listen attentively to staff and cover their eyes while the treasure is hidden in the garden. Staff encourage children to count and compare the amounts of treasure they find. Staff offer praise and encouragement to help children to persist.

Children learn about their local community through regular outings. Staff use these opportunities to provide the children with first-hand experiences of the natural world. For instance, they visit ponds and observe the life cycle of frogs and ducks. Children collect natural materials they find on their walks to create collages. Staff use these as talking points to explain to children the changes that occur with the seasons.

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

• Parents speak extremely highly of the staff and describe them as being 'approachable' and 'caring'. They comment on staff 'embracing children's characters' and state how much they appreciate the experiences they provide, such as trips around the village. Staff provide parents with regular updates about their children's care and learning. This includes what they want children to learn next and ways in which parents can support their child at home. This helps to provide children with consistency in their learning.
• Parents' professional skills are fully utilised as they visit the nursery to talk about their different roles. For example, parents who are farmers taught the children how to feed lambs. These meaningful experiences help children to gain awareness of different occupations and ways of life.
• Managers and staff focus on children becoming confident communicators. For instance, staff in the baby room engage in playful interactions, such as peekaboo, and comment as they play, which babies quickly imitate. Older children engage in meaningful discussions. Staff introduce new words, such as
• 'squishy' and 'rough', to aid their discussion about textures. They ask questions to encourage children to think and reflect. Staff model active listening to support children in developing their listening skills and responding to each other.
• Staff promote children's good health well. Children learn where some of their healthy food comes from. For instance, they grow and harvest vegetables in the garden to create seasonal meals they enjoy for tea. Children care for the strawberry plants and help to pick apples, which they often enjoy alongside other healthy options for snack. This helps to contribute towards children adopting good healthy eating habits.
• Children behave well. They demonstrate kindness to each other. For instance, older children collect tissues for younger children and staff quickly praise children for their kind actions. Staff are good role models, they reinforce behavioural expectations in a calm manner and provide reasons why rules are in place. Children use please and thank you when making requests and learn to take turns with equipment.
• Staff support children to develop their independence, such as dressing for outdoor play and selecting toys and activities. At times, staff do not encourage children to complete small tasks to promote their growing sense of responsibility and ability to do things for themselves.
• Managers prioritise training and development to support staff to continually extend their qualifications and skills. Staff confirm they feel supported and enjoy their role in the nursery. This has a positive impact on children's care, learning and progress.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to encourage children to take responsibility for small tasks that develop their independence.