Small Steps Day Nursery And Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are welcomed warmly by staff and rush into this bright and vibrant nursery. They call out to their friends and are quickly absorbed in their play and learning. Exciting learning opportunities ignite children's interest and thirst for learning. As a result, children are motivated to learn and show curiosity as they explore the activities. For example, pre-school children confidently predict what may happen next as they make raindrops with staff. Children develop an awareness of their own community and the wider world. They learn about special events, such as Diwali, which helps children to understand that people have different beliefs.

Staff know the children well and have high aspirations for them. Clear, well-planned daily routines help children to know what is happening next. Children behave well. They show kindness, concern and respect for their friends as they play together. Children test their ideas and problem-solve collaboratively as they build ramps for the cars to travel down. They know and understand the nursery's rules and quietly remind one another as needed.

Staff place great emphasis on helping children to be independent. Children learn to see to their own toileting needs and put on their coats and shoes. This helps them to prepare for the next stage in their learning. Children develop a sense of self. For example, babies giggle in delight when they see themselves in the mirror. Older children develop an awareness of their own needs. For example, they explain that they are getting a drink of water because they are hot.

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

• Staff know that children learn best when they are happy and settled. They spend considerable time getting to know the children. This enables staff to build strong, caring and nurturing relationships with children. As a result, children, especially babies, feel safe and confident to explore their surroundings.
• Staff are keenly aware of children becoming confident communicators. Babies are enthralled when staff sing 'The Wheels on the Bus'. They attempt to follow the actions and babble tunefully. In addition, staff sing familiar songs to children in French. These engaging activities significantly support children's acquisition of language.
• Staff enable children to learn new skills. For example, when helping children learn to pick up spaghetti with a fork, staff use the phrase, 'twist, twist, twist'. Children beam in delight as they repeat this and achieve their goal. This bolsters children's confidence and helps to develop a firm foundation for future learning.
• Staff plan ways for children to continually develop their small- and large-muscle movements. They plan obstacle courses, which children eagerly clamber over. Older children use pipettes skilfully to gather and disperse water. This helps children to develop confidence in their own abilities.
• Children are provided with many opportunities to revisit and embed new skills. For example, toddlers practise their pouring and tipping skills as they move pasta and rice between cups. This helps toddlers to develop the coordination needed to pour their own drinks.
• Staff provide many opportunities for children to learn about number, shapes and measure. Older children confidently talk about who is the 'tallest' and 'shortest'. They use positional language to describe the placement of objects. Overall, children develop a secure awareness of early mathematical concepts.
• Staff actively encourage children's investigative skills. Children use magnifying glasses to find insects and they talk animatedly about what they have found. In addition, children use new words in their play, such as 'repel' to describe what the magnets are doing. This helps children to become curious learners.
• The new management team works in partnership with the staff. This has enabled managers to identify training to help staff improve children's learning opportunities. However, there are gaps in some less-experienced staff's knowledge of the curriculum. For example, some staff are not as confident in guiding children's learning. This does not help some children to become fully absorbed in their play and learning.
• Children enjoy a balanced curriculum. Staff use the children's interests to help them engage in their learning. For example, children enjoy planting beans after reading the story of 'Jack and the Beanstalk'. This helps them to bring the story to life. However, staff are not always clear on what they want children to learn. This does not help to build consistently on children's capabilities.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen staff's understanding of the curriculum so that they are clear on what they want children to learn
• help staff to access focused training and support to develop their confidence in delivering the curriculum.