Running Rabbits Day Nursery Limited

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff provide a warm welcome to children and their families as they arrive at the nursery. Staff engage in conversation about the children's day. This helps staff to provide the care children need to feel settled and secure at the nursery. Children are quick to separate from their parents and are keen to find their friends to play with.

Staff plan and provide a range of activities that engage and interest the children. Children enjoy exploring texture as they use paints and brushes to paint their hands and make handprint pictures. Children show great pride in their pictures. They invite staff to join their play and paint staff members' hands for them. Staff are quick to join in and talk about the feeling of the paint on their hands as children rub the paint between their hands.

Children know and understand the daily routines as staff use effective strategies to support them in knowing what is happening and what to expect next. Children are quick to join in the routines of tidy-up time and handwashing ready for snack. They show care as they collect the toys and find the right toy boxes to put them in.

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

• The leadership team has a clear vision of what it wants children to learn. Leaders work with staff and parents to gather children's starting points. Staff use this information to build on what children already know and can do. This supports children to make the progress they are capable of.
• Staff understand the areas of learning they teach and the way in which young children learn. They plan activities and learning experiences based on the children's interests, age and stage of development. However, the support for children to develop their understanding of mathematics is not quite as effective as for other areas of learning.
• Staff introduce new learning to the children in a clear and interesting way, promoting discussion about the subject matter being taught. Staff engage with the children, modelling language. They provide the time needed for children to listen, process and respond. Children enjoy, listen to and engage in familiar stories, rhymes and songs. This supports children's language and communication development as they join in with familiar words in the songs and stories.
• A well-established key-person system helps children form secure attachments and promotes their well-being. Children form strong bonds with all the staff. Parents comment on the lasting relationships children have built with their key person and how well the staff know and understand children as individuals.
• Children learn about healthy lifestyles. Staff provide a healthy diet and a range of opportunities for physically active play, both inside and outdoors. They give clear and consistent messages to children that support healthy choices around food, rest and exercise.
• Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour and conduct. These are shared consistently and fairly through positive interactions between staff and children. Children engage in play and are beginning to share and understand that their actions have an impact on others. When children struggle with regulating their behaviour, staff provide guidance and direction to support them. Children are developing a sense of right and wrong.
• The leadership team recognises the importance of staff completing training to continually enhance their skills and knowledge. However, leaders do not always provide the time or support that staff need to be able to focus on their studies.
• Children are confident and independent. Staff provide children with challenges and encourage them to take appropriate risks in their play. The youngest children develop their physical skills as they navigate their way around the room to play at different activities. Staff offer support to children learning to walk. This builds their confidence to take these early steps, and staff and children clap and celebrate these achievements.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen the support for children to explore and learn about mathematics
• provide consistent support, training and coaching for staff training towards qualifications to help them support children's learning and development effectively.