Small Street Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

All children make good progress in their development based on their individual starting points. Staff quickly identify where new children need additional support and target their learning well. They find out how each child prefers to learn and plan experiences to support this. For example, babies who learn by throwing things eagerly explore an exciting range of objects and develop their understanding of different materials. Older children investigate how various objects roll down a ramp and see how far they travel.

Children are happy and enjoy the time they spend with staff at the nursery. New children quickly settle, and staff skilfully support them to be confident in their new surroundings. They enjoy interacting with adults and other children. Children learn to cope well with separation from parents and carers. Staff successfully help children to prepare for changes, such as moving to the next room and school.

Leaders and staff successfully support children's health. Children enjoy nutritious snacks and drinks and benefit from regular opportunities to be active. Children enthusiastically join in with physical activity games which raise their heartbeat and breathing rate. They learn good hygiene routines and know when and why they must wash their hands.

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

• Leaders ensure that all staff understand and adopt the nursery's ethos. Staff help children to grow in knowledge, confidence and to flourish. Leaders continually monitor the quality of children's learning experiences and the progress they make. They provide staff with good support to extend their knowledge. However, leaders have not checked that staff make all the recommended changes to their practice, to ensure consistency, raise the quality of their teaching even further and help children to make the best possible progress.
• Staff skilfully gather information about what children know and can do and use this well to plan for their learning. They noticed that children needed additional support with their communication and language development following the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. They have effective systems in place to help all children to catch up in their communication skills, including those who speak English as an additional language.
• Children learn to use non-verbal ways to communicate. For example, they use signs, gestures and objects to tell staff what they want. Children who are not yet using words respond to action songs and rhymes and show that they understand the meaning of the words. Children who are more advanced communicators confidently join in discussions and ask questions.
• Leaders and staff work closely with parents. Parents speak positively about the care their children receive and how they progress well with their social skills. They appreciate the opportunities to talk with staff who can speak in alternative languages to English.
• Children learn about the people who live in their local community. They use role-play resources which represent different traditions. Staff help them to understand that people dress in different ways. This includes different types of headwear, such as mosque hats, turbans and headscarves.
• Children develop good levels of independence. For example, they learn how to use cutlery at mealtimes and to scrape their plates. They confidently make choices about where they want to play and what they will need. However, at times, staff are slightly too quick to help children with some everyday tasks they can easily attempt for themselves. This means that staff do not fully challenge children to have a go and try to do a task before they ask for help.
• Children behave well. They develop good social skills and learn how to manage their feelings, such as when they become frustrated. Older children play happily together and select what they want to use from the stimulating resources available to invent their own games.
• Staff work successfully with other agencies to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Leaders ensure that all children receive their entitlement to a good education. For example, they have increased the number of staff available so that each child's needs are met well.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• extend even further the monitoring of staff practice to identify and address some inconsistencies in staff practice, to further enhance the quality of children's learning
• increase the challenge for children to have a go and manage everyday tasks for themselves, to extend their independence even further.