Seesaw 2

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children come into the nursery happily and settle quickly. Staff are warm and nurturing in their interactions with children, which makes children feel valued and secure. Staff get to know children and their interests well and plan activities that build on what children already know and can do. For example, young children are encouraged to further explore their interest in colours and patterns through matching and sorting activities. Older children talk confidently about their families and their friends at the nursery.

Children show positive attitudes towards learning and become deeply involved in activities. They use clay and herbs creatively and become absorbed in what they are doing. Younger children enjoy exploring the feel of dough and investigate squeezing and manipulating it with their hands. This develops children's physical control, promoting early literacy skills. Children's behaviour is good. Children are polite and say 'please' and 'thank you'. Staff praise children, which reinforces their positive behaviours.

Parents are complimentary about the staff and how they get to know their children's individual needs. Parents are kept informed about their children's development. Staff work with parents and other professionals to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They put plans in place to support children to access the curriculum and make progress in their development.

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

• Staff support children's communication and language well. Staff interact with children in a warm and sensitive manner. They model a range of language to support children in developing a varied vocabulary. Staff give children plenty of time to respond to questions or comments. Children respond with confidence and are eager to join in conversations with staff. Children spontaneously sing songs while they play, showing that they are secure in their knowledge of songs and rhymes. Older children create their own songs and sing with their friends.
• Children enjoy listening to stories. They confidently join in with familiar parts of the story and enjoy using props to talk about the story afterwards. This consolidates children's learning and develops their vocabulary.
• Staff embed mathematics throughout children's activities. Babies explore shapes and patterns, and older children start to investigate floating and sinking. Children count their fruit at snack time, consolidating their knowledge of numbers and quantities.
• Children enjoy a good range of activities and resources that cover a broad curriculum overall. However, they are not always able to move freely between rooms to access the role play area. Babies do not always have access to messy play, sensory activities or regular opportunities for outside play.
• Children learn about their emotions and how they can manage their own feelings. They listen to a story about 'worries' and confidently talk about what they do when they have 'worries'. This increases children's resilience and their understanding of their own feelings.
• Staff support children to be independent. Children pour their own drinks and put their plate and cup in the washing-up bowl when they have finished eating. This teaches children to contribute positively to the routines of the setting.
• Older children enjoy being outdoors. There are a variety of activities on offer for children outside. However, the layout of the activities and outdoor space does not give children many opportunities for physical exertion. They have limited space for riding the bikes or playing physical games, which limits their exuberant physical exercise.
• Leaders identify strengths and areas for improvement in the setting. They support staff to improve practice and recognise the impact that the pandemic has had on children, families and staff.
• During the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders kept in contact with families while children were at home. They supported children's home learning by sharing activity ideas and videos. This supported children's ongoing learning and development.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• use the inside and outside spaces effectively to maximise children's learning and development opportunities across all areas
• provide children with frequent opportunities to be active and to promote their physical health.