Solihull Day Care

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children make exceptional progress in this nursery. They are fully immersed in the wealth of exciting play and learning that captures their imagination and zest to learn. Children across all ages are very happy and settled in this exhilarating environment, where there are high expectations for all children to achieve their very best outcomes. Children are encouraged to take manageable risks, to 'have a go' and explore and practise the skills and knowledge that they hold.

Children's behaviour is exemplary. From a young age, they learn about the impact of their behaviour on others. They gain an understanding of what is right and wrong and help each other as they start to make decisions for themselves. They use 'kind hands' and kind words when they play. Staff are excellent role models and lead by example. Children make close friendships and support each other during tasks. Nurturing relationships with staff provide children with secure emotional bonds that make them feel safe and valued.

Staff place a high value on teaching children about the wider world and different communities to their own. This helps children to respect and listen to the views of others. Children initially look at information in books about Ramadan. They use their creative and physical skills to create pictures and then to explore their imagination, as they play in a Mosque built out of cardboard. This helps children to further understand what they see in the local community and its value to all people.

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

• The leadership team has an excellent understanding of the curriculum and what they want to teach children to prepare them for their next stage of learning. The sequencing of learning is expertly delivered by the highly committed staff team. Staff are highly skilled in interpreting what each child needs to make rapid progress. The leadership team is committed to maintaining the highest levels of staff skills and invests in training and coaching to support continued professional development of the staff.
• Staff precisely target children's individual learning through play. They learn about the natural world as they plant seeds. They watch the seeds grow and change, and recreate the growing plants using different materials, such as play dough. Children recall the story 'Jack and the Beanstalk'. They use their imagination and create their own beanstalk. Children use books for different purposes. They talk about and compare different types of cells they see on the page, and say that a large cell 'looks like the moon'. Staff skilfully introduce a wide range of language to the discussion; they talk about energy, and children say that their 'brain needs energy to learn'.
• Young children play outdoors and explore the environment. They use their physical skills as they practise 'hopping like a frog' and imagine being a toucan as they flap their arms. Children follow instructions well and understand the routines and rules that keep them safe. From an early age they acquire a strong vocabulary. They know what 'binoculars' are and hold their hands to their eyes to replicate these as they look into the sky for birds. They enthusiastically shout out what they see.
• Babies love their time outdoors. They successfully thread pasta onto spaghetti to create a line. This supports their emerging fine motor skills at a very early age. Children independently climb on a small slide, while others sit with staff and look at books and listen to the sounds of musical instruments. Indoors, the youngest children take part in a music time. They hold and shake instruments. Staff encourage the children to vocalise the sounds they hear.
• Innovative teaching inspires children's early interest in mathematics. Staff include what children like to do, such as collecting leaves. They then use the leaves to teach children about comparison and sorting. Children think about which baskets each leaf goes into and compare what is the same. Children make predictions about if the object will fit, checking if it is too small or too big. The boxes are labelled, and children recognise the meaning of the words in print. Some younger children are already able to recognise letters in their names and sound out early phonics. Older children can recognise letters by sounds, as they expertly match the sound to the card during games.
• Staff take care to prioritise children's health and well-being. Children learn to become independent and manage their own personal care in preparation for their eventual move to school. There is a shared understanding that children need to try for themselves, such as when putting on shoes and coats. This means they learn through trial and error and solve problems for themselves. Staff are expert at knowing when to step in and help to enhance children's sense of achievement. Children enjoy healthy mealtimes at the nursery, which are a social occasion. They help to serve puddings and to take care of each other.
• Children with special educational needs/and or disabilities receive excellent support. They make outstanding progress from their starting points. Staff have an excellent knowledge of the children and work alongside parents and other professionals. They are highly skilled in providing care and learning that is sensitive and tailored to each child's individual needs. This provides children with the very best start to their education.
• Parents report that they are extremely happy with the nursery and the support that their children receive. They highlight the effectiveness of communication with the nursery and the close relationships that are formed. Although they no longer enter the nursery to drop off and collect their children, they are happy with the contact they have with staff. The say that they information helps them to continue their children's learning at home.