Rubery Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy at this nursery. They show they are keen to join in with the range of activities on offer. Younger children sit and connect dinosaur trains together. They develop their physical skills as they create a route for the dinosaurs to travel along using a wooden track. Staff help children to recognise colours as they name the colours of the dinosaurs while children push them along. Older children enjoy making music with different instruments. They learn that they need to use different methods to create the sound of each one. They smile as they bang drums to make loud sounds.

The nursery benefits from a large outdoor area. Children have opportunities to grow vegetables and learn where food comes from. They have access to a mud kitchen where they develop their creativity and imagination. There are plenty of opportunities for children to be physically active. They ride around on wheeled vehicles and learn to avoid obstacles in their path. Some children choose to use mud to make marks on fences. They use their finger to make the shape of letters and say the alphabet in sequence. Staff say the next letter in the sequence and encourage children to repeat after them.

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

• Leaders and managers have a clear curriculum. They understand what children need to learn as they progress through the nursery. The curriculum is sequenced to build on what children already know and what they need to learn next. For example, younger children learn to use cutlery to feed themselves, and as they get older, they begin to serve their own food. As a result, children are well prepared for the next stage in their learning.
• Staff offer a range of learning activities for children. They plan activities based on children's interests and what they want them to learn next. Children are keen to explore the activities on offer. However, when children start to lose interest in the activity, staff do not know how to sustain their interest to extend the learning further. As a result, children do not make as much progress as they could.
• Children develop their independence. They learn skills such as serving themselves at mealtimes. Younger children have a go at putting on their own shoes and coats ready to go outside to play. Children are starting to take care of their own personal care needs such as using the toilet. This helps children to become self-sufficient.
• Children behave well. They are reminded to be kind to their friends and are beginning to learn how their behaviour impacts on others. For example, when children want something another child has, staff calmly explain to them how this makes others feel. Staff repeat nursery rules to children during the daily routine.
• Therefore, children begin to understand what is expected of them.
• Staff build good relationships with children. Children are confident in their environment and go to staff for support when they need it. However, staff only have a basic knowledge of what children need to learn next. They do not have a good enough understanding of the current developmental stage of their key children. Therefore, children do not always receive learning which is tailored to their learning needs.
• Parents comment positively on the care their children receive. They say that staff are friendly and that their children make progress as a result of attending the nursery. They are happy with the communication they receive about their child's day and say their children are happy to attend. They receive advice about how to support their children at home, which helps them to make progress. This ensures that children receive consistency of care.
• Leaders and managers have a good oversight of the nursery. They have evaluated both the environment and staff practice and identified where improvements are required to enhance experiences for children. This means that children are offered opportunities which continually improve.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• provide staff with professional development opportunities which improve their knowledge of how to extend children's learning even further
• strengthen the key-person role so that staff know children well and can clearly determine what they need to learn next.