Safe Haven day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children show they feel safe and secure in the caring and nurturing environment that staff create. Babies reach out to a familiar member of staff and beam with happiness as they play together. Staff in the baby room understand the importance of supporting babies to make firm attachments to a key adult in their care. They use extensive settling-in sessions to build relationships with parents and ensure they have key information to provide continuity in children's care.

Children behave well and create good relationships with others. Babies share paints as they make marks on paper, and toddlers help to prepare snack for their friends. Older children learn to take turns to throw balls through a hoop and regulate their own emotions as they accept winning and losing in a sack race.

Staff provide children with many opportunities to learn safely outside. Children show great interest in the well-thought-out activities provided for them. For example, older children develop their large muscles as they have fun climbing through tunnels. Toddlers sit in the large sandpit and use tools to make sandcastles, developing their hand-eye coordination. Babies develop their small muscles as they squeeze oranges and lemons in the water tray and enjoy the citrus smell in the water.

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

• The management team works closely with staff to develop and implement a well-sequenced curriculum. Staff use their monitoring and assessment process to help them to identify what children need to learn next, and use children's interests to create activities to support this. For example, babies focus their attention as they thread sticks of rhubarb down tubes, developing their physical skills. However, on occasions, some staff do not adapt their interactions quickly enough to challenge able toddlers and older children. For example, staff describe the adventures of 'Bubbles' the bear from his visits to the children's homes without providing sufficient opportunity for children to share their own thoughts.
• Staff support children to develop their communication and language skills. They model sounds and use naming vocabulary when talking to babies. They interpret babies' babble. Staff recognise the value of singing songs and rhymes and reading stories to help children to acquire and use words and vocabulary. These are part of everyday practice across the nursery. However, at times, staff do not recognise opportunities to encourage two-way conversations and extend children's language skills further.
• Children behave well. Staff take time to talk to children and help them to manage their feelings by offering solutions. They support them to manage their own behaviour. For example, staff remind children about including their friends as they take turns to sit in the rocket and pretend to blast off to the moon.
• Staff create an environment that is interesting and exciting for children to engage in. Children focus on their chosen activity and show a high level of curiosity. For example, they explore the outdoor environment and develop their physical skills as they make huge bubbles by dragging large hoops through bubble water. Children learn to manage their own safety as they practise using the tree swing.
• Children learn skills in preparation for their move on to school, including how to be independent. For example, in the baby room, staff give babies time to learn to feed themselves. In the toddler room, staff encourage children to use knives and forks to eat their lunch. Pre-school children set the tables for their friends by putting out knives and forks for lunch and serve their own food.
• Parents praise the 'home-from-home' setting. They value the communication and warmth from the staff members. Staff regularly share information about children's development and provide information to help parents support and extend children's learning at home. Parents comment that their children are eager to tell them all about their day and the things they have enjoyed doing while at nursery.
• The management team and staff show a great deal of passion and pride in the nursery. The team supports staff with regular supervision sessions and sets targets to enhance their skills. Staff undertake training to improve their teaching, and this learning is shared with other staff to ensure good practice throughout the nursery. For example, staff have all used learning from training to support consistent management of children's behaviour.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to use every opportunity to challenge children to think for themselves and build on what they already know
• strengthen staff's skills and understanding of when and how to further extend children's communication skills.