Squirrels Day Nurseries (Hemel) Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enjoy a wide variety of activities in this bright, welcoming nursery. Staff develop secure relationships with children, allowing children to feel safe in the nursery. Staff use children's interests to plan activities. Younger children explore the sensory tray. They crawl in it, and use their bare feet to explore the textures, crunching the flakes and watching to see what happens next. This helps children to become inquisitive learners.

Children receive a lot of praise and encouragement from staff as they play, such as when children climb up the ladders to the climbing frame. Staff encourage children to try independently. As their confidence builds, staff members gradually offer less support. Children enjoy exploring the different ways to climb. They delight as they make their way to the slide at the top. These achievements build on children's self-esteem.

Children seek each other out to share experiences. Younger children play alongside their peers. They watch intently as their friends play with toys, copying and following their lead. Older children work together to hunt for leaves, ready for leaf printing. They talk together about how their leaves look and try to find the biggest ones. This helps develop children's social skills and ability to work together.

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

• Staff are knowledgeable about their children. They work together as a team to create activities which are available for children to access. Older children develop skills needed for school. They learn how to put on their coats independently and use knives and forks at lunchtime. In the Explorers' room, staff create activities to meet the wide age range of children. Some staff members use their knowledge of babies' interests to involve them in play. However, this is not consistent and, therefore, babies sometimes become disengaged and move quickly on to other activities.
• An effective transition plan is in place for those children going to school. Key persons liaise with teachers to share information about children's development. They welcome teachers into the nursery to meet the children. Staff spend time talking to children about their recent visits to school. They encourage children to talk about the things they did. This helps children to become excited about the next stage in their learning.
• Staff are knowledgeable about how best to use additional funding to support children's development. During the COVID-19 pandemic, funding was used to support children with the next steps in their learning while at home. Children's key persons developed activity packs and completed 'doorstep drop-offs' to children. This aided parents with supporting their child's development at home.
• On the whole, children behave well. Staff model how to share toys for younger children. They explain how sharing is kind. Children are aware of the expectation of their behaviour while in the nursery. In the Investigators' room, staff remind children of the rules of the nursery. There are times when children mix in the garden area. During this time, plans are not shared between staff to ensure that, where needed, behaviour management is consistent. This means that children do not always know what is expected of them.
• Staff support children to develop knowledge of healthy lifestyles. Older children cut vegetables independently. They talk with staff about the different vegetables and where they come from. At snack time, children enjoy a range of healthy fruit. Where children have packed lunches, staff support parents to provide healthy options.
• The manager has greatly improved communication with parents. Parents comment on now feeling part of their child's learning journey. Parents find the staff team welcoming and approachable. They state that their children make good progress in their learning.
• Staff receive good support from the management team. New staff buddy up with experienced staff members. This offers support and encouragement daily. The manager has a clear plan in place to continue the development of the nursery. She understands her role in the journey they are on and how she will continue to support staff.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• guide staff working with babies to enhance their knowledge of how babies learn to improve their interactions and engage babies in purposeful learning opportunities
• support staff to provide a more consistent approach to behaviour management so that children understand the rules and know what is expected of them.