Shapes Day Nurseries Limited

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thrive in this exceptional setting. Staff provide an extraordinary learning environment, which children delight in exploring. Children and families are at the heart of this excellent setting. Children are highly motivated and engaged. They talk animatedly about 'science week' and the experiments they are doing. Children are incredibly happy and content and their behaviour is exemplary. Staff are excellent role models. They celebrate all children's achievements and children demonstrate very high levels of confidence and self-esteem. Staff prioritise children's emotional well-being. Children happily care for and cuddle their friends.

Staff have very high expectations of children. They are intently focused on ensuring children have excellent opportunities to develop their language and social skills and they nurture children's interests and fascinations extremely well. They provide a wealth of exciting and engaging activities and opportunities that fascinate children and plan a curriculum which is tailored superbly to children's individual needs and interests. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are excellently supported. All children make excellent progress from their starting points and are completely ready for the next stage of their learning journey.

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

• The curriculum is meticulously planned. Staff are extremely skilled in ensuring that learning builds on what children already know and can do. Children's communication and language is significantly enhanced. Babies confidently use sign language to say simple words, such as 'please'. Toddlers increase their vocabulary through songs, rhymes and stories. Older children use a wealth of vocabulary in their play, such as 'fantastic gymnastics', and say they are 'twiddling' the spaghetti onto their forks at lunchtime.
• Parents talk incredibly highly of the setting. They say that it is 'like a family'. They reference the significant progress their children have made in their speech, language, confidence, and social skills. They receive excellent support to help their children at home. They highly value the opportunities to meet other parents and say how involved and included they feel.
• Staff are excellent role models. They play alongside children, engaging them in interesting and motivating activities. They ensure children have access to a wide and rich set of experiences. They employ a language and a dance teacher, to help children learn about the wider world. Staff extend and challenge children's thinking superbly. Every space is enriched with pictures and prompts to spark curiosity and conversations.
• Staff intently focus on children as individuals and tailor their curriculum and environment to meet their needs. Children's transitions to the next stage of their education are seamless. Staff move through the rooms with children to ensure they are fully settled. Children watch their friends through clear panels and all staff know the children intimately. Children with SEND make excellent progress. Staff work very closely with other professionals and parents in children's own homes to support children's developing communication skills. Children who have delays in their speech and language, are now confident speakers.
• Leaders and managers are highly reflective. They are inspirational in their commitment to ensuring they offer the best possible care and education to children. They continuously invest in the setting, ensuring children have access to high quality resources. They use additional funding to create magical areas that children thoroughly enjoy exploring, such as a large soft-play area and outdoor spaces.
• Staff have very high expectations of children. They use what they know about children expertly to match activities to what children need to learn next. For example, they use bubbles to encourage younger children to jump and catch them, supporting their physical skills. Individual children are superbly supported by staff to talk, for example when washing babies in a bath.
• Children behave impeccably. Routines are consistently embedded throughout the setting. Children are incredibly independent. Staff offer cuddles and encouragement consistently. Children show very high levels of concentration and focus. For example, younger children spend a long time matching different cones together outside.
• Leaders and managers are passionate about the provision and inspiring to staff. They encourage staff to develop their knowledge and skills even further by providing funding for additional qualifications and training. They have excellent relationships with external agencies. Staff talk of how supported they feel. They reference the 'good vibes' initiative to support their well-being. They say they love their jobs.