Serendipitys Day Nursery and Pre-school

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Babies confidently explore their environment, and staff watch closely as they climb up three steps and happily go down a small slide. They enjoy playing with a tray of coloured cornflour. Babies copy staff when they show them how to sprinkle the cornflour and how to make patterns in it using small objects, building their fine motor skills as they do so. Staff are warm and encouraging, and praise babies as they try out new things. Older children build their fine motor skills further as they pretend to wrap presents at Christmas time. They carefully wrap paper around toys and use scissors to cut pieces of tape, showing high levels of concentration as they stick the paper together.

Children work together to complete a floor puzzle with colourful pictures of different modes of transport. A member of staff helps them to develop their conversation skills by encouraging them to talk about times when they have been on a train or an aeroplane. Children enjoy playing outside. They build on their physical skills as they play on a swing and climb on tyres. They practise balancing as they walk across a low beam and proudly say, 'Look at me!' when they get to the other side.

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

• Managers have a clear vision for what they want children to learn. There is a strong focus on developing children's independence and building their confidence in their own abilities. This is put into practice by staff throughout the nursery and children are increasingly encouraged to 'have a go' at new things. Staff engage a group of young children in making play dough. They ask, 'Who hasn't had a job yet?' and children take turns to pour water from a jug while other children stir with a spoon.
• Managers have a good awareness of what makes teaching and learning effective. Staff plan activities that align well with the abilities of and next steps for the children taking part. Young children play in a water tray with pots, pans and pieces of fruit. Staff encourage children to pour water with the pots, and model new vocabulary as they say 'big splash' and 'little splash'. Staff use sign language to support language development throughout the nursery. They sign 'hello', and sit down as they say the words to help young children to learn to follow instructions.
• Staff identify those children who are falling behind and provide extra support, both individually and in groups. A small group of children learn how to listen carefully and to wait their turn as they sing a song and roll a ball to one another. Staff remind them to wait for the word 'go'. Children respond well and are gaining in confidence to speak in a group situation. Managers ensure that staff are able to use additional funding to provide one-to-one activities for children who need extra support, such as going on trips in the local area to extend their experiences.
• Staff encourage children to explore the world around them with a sense of wonder. They ask children to each find something exciting from the garden to put into a small box. Together, they all examine the leaves, pine cones and other items that they have collected. However, staff do not place sufficient emphasis on helping children to learn about and celebrate different cultures.
• Children's behaviour is good. Staff remind them of the nursery promises to have 'gentle hands' and 'listening ears'. Children are learning to share and to take turns.
• Parents say that their children are happy at the nursery and that they know their child's key person well. Parents say that their child's key person gives them a full description of what their child has been doing and learning at the end of each day.
• Staff say that they feel very well supported by the managers and they value the range of external support that is available to them if they need it. New staff have an induction programme to help them to understand what is expected of them. Staff are supported to attend training on topics such as safeguarding and working with children who have autism spectrum disorder. They say that this helps them to continually develop and improve their practice.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• provide opportunities to further children's awareness of different cultures through resources and activities to help them to learn about what makes themselves and others unique.