Snowdrop Cottage Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children show that they are happy and safe in this welcoming and friendly nursery. Babies and young children settle quickly with their special adults. Babies know that these adults are nearby for reassurance when needed, as they confidently explore the toys and activities on offer. Children show curiosity as they explore different textures that aid their sensory development. Children tap the xylophone and know that it makes noises. They catch and pop bubbles and use their hands to squash and pat jelly. Children spend long periods exploring, showing a positive attitude towards their learning.

Children flourish in this nursery as the curriculum is based on children's individual needs and backgrounds. Staff work very closely with parents to follow children's home routines and incorporate their interests into their day. Staff have high expectations of young children. They encourage them to feed themselves, choose their breakfast and drinks, and share and take turns. They praise the children regularly for having a go at tasks. This means that children are confident to persevere and learn new skills.

Partnerships with parents are very good overall. Parents report that the nursery treats their children as individuals and that the small groups help their children become confident in their social skills. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, parents have not had face-to-face meetings with staff or entered the nursery, although they are kept informed about their children's day and progress. Some parents are not aware of their children's individual targets for learning so they can fully support these at home.

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

• Managers offers staff professional development opportunities and have clear priorities for improvement in the nursery. Following a 'babbling babies' course, staff have improved their interactions with the youngest children. Through providing a language-rich environment and reinforcing hand signs, staff help babies' communication and understanding to progress very well. Managers check staff's emotional well-being regularly and are flexible to ensure that staff have a manageable work-life balance.
• Staff know the children and their individual needs very well and place a strong focus on developing children's language, physical and social skills. Children make good progress in the areas of learning. Staff quickly identify any possible delays in children's development and work closely with parents and other professionals to help close any gaps in learning.
• Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, managers have reorganised the settling-in sessions for new children and their families. Staff recognise that children have had fewer social interactions and they have extended the times children visit the nursery. This has aided children's ability to form secure attachments with staff and offered reassurance to parents when leaving their children for the first time.
• Staff promote children's communication and language very well. They provide a narrative to the young children about what they are doing and explain the routines, so they learn to understand what is happening next. Staff reinforce new words and offer praise when children use new language. Children become confident in their attempts to communicate with staff and other children.
• Children develop good physical skills. Babies quickly progress from crawling to cruising and walking as staff offer plenty of space and equipment to encourage these skills, inside and outside. Young children take managed risks as they climb over and under obstacles and crawl through tunnels. They confidently climb steps, negotiate space and walk up and down slopes.
• Children's behaviour is very good. Staff offer the children lots of praise and positive reinforcement for what they do well. They talk to children about their emotions calmly, asking if they are 'sad' or 'need help' with a task when they communicate their frustration.
• Staff are very enthusiastic when storytelling. They use lots of actions and intonations to capture the children's interest. Young children sit and listen and join in with the actions, such as blowing and knocking. Staff have not thought of more creative ways to develop children's concentration when singing favourite rhymes, to support their learning even further.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• train staff to implement new ideas to maintain and extend children's concentration and learning even further, particularly during singing sessions
• develop partnerships with parents even further so that all parents know their children's individual next steps and can support their learning and development at home.