Spring Bishops Hull

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children respond easily to staff, who provide a caring and reassuring approach. Staff cuddle babies when feeding them their bottles and help them feel relaxed and settled in their care. Children interact happily with their friends. Older children show kindness to their younger friends, such as to help them zip up their coat or let them share their ride-on toys outdoors. Staff provide a clear focus to supporting children's personal, social and emotional well-being from a young age. They provide a broad curriculum that supports children to gain confidence and a curiosity to learn through their play. This helps children make good progress from their starting points.

Children enjoy their messy play. For example, they like trying to pick up slices of lemon and lime hidden in bubbly water. They push their fingers through shaving foam and make marks using brushes in a mixture of dried lentils and oats. Babies like playing with the crushed-up cereal or cooked spaghetti. They smile as staff paint their feet and help them make footprints while walking across some paper.

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

• The provider supports staff well to develop their practice. For example, staff have refreshed their understanding of the nursery safeguarding procedures. They have also completed 'safer sleeping' training. This has helped to consolidate their awareness of the importance of monitoring sleeping children.
• Parents comment positively about staff and say communication is very good. Staff liaise well with parents to help their children settle in the nursery happily. They keep them well-informed about their children's learning.
• Staff are keen to make continual improvements and have made positive changes to the layout of the indoor play areas to create more space for children's activities. They have also obtained more natural and wooden toys, such as in the home play areas, to encourage children's imaginations. However, the range of outdoor play opportunities is sometimes limited and does not promote all areas of children's learning consistently well, such as in supporting those children who learn best outdoors.
• Children behave very well. Staff use lots of praise and encouragement with children. They help children learn to share their toys and play cooperatively. Children learn to use good manners from a young age. Babies begin to say 'please' and 'thank you' when offered food at mealtimes.
• Staff encourage children's communication and language well overall. Older children listen attentively to staff and follow instructions, such as in their action songs. They begin to use more complex words, such as 'magnetic', in context. Babies start to repeat familiar single words. Staff reinforce words and phrases for children with English as an additional language to encourage their speech.
• However, they have not fully considered providing opportunities for them to use key words from their home language to support them to develop their speech and understanding more effectively.
• Children use their imaginations well in play. Older children like playing in the mud kitchen and mix leaves in their saucepans. They tell staff they have made 'apple or leaf pie'. They like squeezing and rolling the purple play dough and tell staff they have made a 'baked potato'.
• Children develop an interest to learn through their play. Staff monitor children's progress and plan activities to build on what they know and can do. Babies explore the colourful ribbons and musical shakers with interest. Older children become fascinated with the raindrops they see on the fencing and start to count them. However, at times, staff do not organise some activities as well as possible, for example to engage babies more effectively in their musical group sessions.
• Staff establish clear daily routines to raise children's awareness of keeping fit and healthy. Older children wipe their noses and know to dispose of tissues in the bin. They like making fruit smoothies with staff. Children have opportunities for daily exercise. Babies excitedly crawl through a colourful pop-up tunnel and gain confidence with their mobility. They like playing hide-and-seek and squeal with delight when staff find them hiding in the tall wooden tepee. Older children develop good control of their ride-on toys and learn about road safety. For example, they know to stop when staff hold up their hand, pretending they are at a red traffic light.
• Children develop their independence well. They know where to find their boots when going outdoors to play and staff encourage them to put these and their coats on themselves. Babies begin to use cutlery and open-top cups from a young age.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• improve the play experiences and variety of resources in the garden play areas to consistently support the interests of those children who learn best outdoors
• strengthen the opportunities for children with English as an additional language to develop their speech and understanding
• develop the organisation of activities to engage babies' involvement and support their concentration consistently well.