Shining Pandas Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are busy and active learners. They move confidently around the nursery building, which staff organise well to meet the individual children's needs. Children separate easily from their parents and quickly engage in the learning experiences on offer. Younger children laugh as they explore materials with their hands in the 'messy tray' and persevere as they complete puzzles. Older children enjoy taking part in conversations about their teeth and what foods are not good for their teeth and why. Staff support children's physical development. Children learn to balance, climb and aim at targets when playing in the soft-play area. Staff help them to develop more intricate skills. Children learn to spread glue and add sticky tape when making pictures from paper. They are confident when approaching these challenges and know to ask for help, should they need it.

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

• The manager is dedicated to her role and responsibilities. There are effective arrangements in place for the recruitment and induction of new staff to ensure that all adults working with children are suitable. The manager recognises that the addition of new staff brings new and fresh ideas, but also creates a workforce with variable teaching skills. The manager is considering ways to coach and support all staff to improve the quality of teaching to a consistently high level.
• The manager and staff have high expectations for children's behaviour. They have effective routines and boundaries in place which help children to anticipate what is coming next. Staff support children to demonstrate positive behaviour through praise and encouragement. Staff support children's developing understanding of sharing resources, such as using sand timers to take turns. This helps children to feel safe and secure and to know what is expected of them.
• The manager has effective safeguarding procedures in place and knows their responsibilities in relation to child protection. Staff recognise the signs and symptoms of abuse. They know who to go to should they have concerns about the welfare of a child. The premises are secure.
• The support in place for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is good. The special educational needs coordinator works well alongside parents, carers, staff and other professionals. Together, they develop a range of plans for the children. This practice helps to ensure that children with SEND receive the timely and specialist support they require.
• Interactions with children are positive and supportive. Staff offer lots of praise and ask questions to encourage children to think about what they are learning. However, when asking questions, staff do not always give children enough time to answer. This means that children are not always given the opportunity to think about and process the information and respond.
• Staff generally provide a challenging curriculum for all children. They identify the skills that children need to acquire before they move on to school. However, on occasions, the intent for learning within the activities provided lacks clarity and focus.
• Parents and carers speak positively about staff. They state that their children enjoy attending. Parents add that the manager has an open door, where they can address any concerns they have. Staff keep parents and carers well informed about their child's day and their child's development. They provide lots of ideas and suggestions for how parents can support their child at home.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff's understanding of how to implement the learning intentions for activities, so they are clear on what skills and knowledge they want children to gain
• encourage practitioners to give children more time to think and respond, to support children's thinking and language skills.