Smarty Pants Abbey Lane Limited

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff help children to settle well. They provide children with comfort and reassurance on arrival. Children respond to the warm tones used by staff, especially those children who have recently joined the setting. Children are keen to explore the environment. They know the routines well. Children express their feelings to staff and peers, and older children share the reasons for their emotions.

Staff plan a variety of interesting and engaging activities that support children's next steps in learning. They successfully support children's recognition of numerals, counting skills and understanding of quantities. Children follow recipes to make 'rock cakes' and 'sand muffins' in the garden, using natural resources such as flowers, stones and mud. Children play collaboratively. They talk about needing bigger containers to collect water for their cakes and muffins. Staff use questions well to develop children's understanding of quantities. For example, they ask children how many stones they have and how many more scoops of mud they need. Children develop good mathematical skills as they count, identify numerals and use language around quantities. Leaders ensure that all children, including disadvantaged children, make good progress from their starting points.

Children build strong relationships with staff and each other. They giggle and laugh as they play with their friends. Staff role model how children should ask their peers to share toys and resources they would like. On rare occasions, staff talk to children about disagreements and conflict. Children learn how to resolve any conflict independently.

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

• Staff support children's communication and language skills well. Staff use objects and visual aids to help communicate with babies. They consistently use key words in context. For example, during water play, staff say 'splash', 'water' and 'bubbles' repeatedly. Staff ask a variety of open-ended and closed questions to develop children's listening and understanding skills. For example, staff ask children what they are building. Children reply 'a house' and 'a street'. Staff ask further questions, such as whether the street is busy and whether it will be loud or quiet on the street. As a result, children's vocabulary expands, and their communication skills improve.
• Staff provide opportunities for children to develop their independence. Older children are encouraged to manage small tasks at mealtimes. They pour milk onto their cereal at breakfast, self-serve their own lunch, and scrape their own plates after meals. Staff introduce babies to self-feeding, and they learn to hold utensils. Children grow in confidence and independence and develop skills for future learning.
• Parents are happy with the progress their children are making. They receive communication regarding their children's learning and development. Parents of children who speak English as an additional language say their children's English language skills have improved since joining the nursery. Parents hear them singing nursery rhymes in English at home. Parents compliment the staff for the help they provide when toilet training children and teaching children about early privacy and self-care. However, parents report that they are not consistently made aware of staff changes within the setting so they know more about their children's day.
• Staff feel their well-being and professional development are supported well by leaders. Staff report that leaders make themselves available to talk to and help them manage their workload. Leaders provide regular training to develop staff's understanding of curriculum, schemas in child development and fire safety. This helps staff to continuously improve their practice and leads to better outcomes for children.
• Overall, children enjoy their learning experiences. However, at times, staff's implementation of some routines in the day does not help to support and extend children's concentration and focus during activities they enjoy. At times, staff abruptly leave an activity or move a child along to do something else, and this disrupts children's learning.
• Staff have clear expectations for children's behaviour and conduct. Staff remind children about the 'golden rules'. When older children temporarily go off task during group time, staff remind them about 'good listening' rules. Children are familiar with these rules, and they respond quickly. Staff encourage children to listen to each other and teach them to take turns to talk. Consequently, children treat each other with respect and kindness.
• Staff support children to develop a good understanding of healthy lifestyles. All children develop good physical skills. They demonstrate good coordination and balance as they navigate space when completing obstacle courses. Staff take all available opportunities to discuss healthy eating. They talk to children about vegetables making them strong, carrots being good for their eyes and fish being good for the brain. Children make positive choices about health.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop partnership with parents to keep them informed about the changes within the setting
• review the organisation of daily routines to consistently support and extend children's concentration and learning.