St Joseph's Childcare Group

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happily at the nursery and are greeted by warm and caring staff. Activities that children enjoy are provided, which helps children to settle quickly. Babies giggle with delight at the songs staff sing to them throughout the day. Staff babble with babies and introduce new words, which babies repeat as they play. Older children enjoy stories and join in songs, actions and rhymes. All children enjoy sociable mealtimes. Staff sit with children and model new and descriptive vocabulary.

Older children spend short periods each day in the pre-school area. This prepares them for the busier environment when they move rooms. Toddlers confidently move around the outdoor space and make choices about what they want to explore next. Non-mobile babies spend lots of time with their key persons, who support them well to develop their large muscles to learn to stand. They share resources and take turns to use ride-on cars and push-along walking aids.

Children make good progress in relation to their starting points for learning and develop skills for future learning. Staff's enthusiasm and effective interactions enhance children's enjoyment and build on their learning well.

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

• Staff model expected behaviour and show respect to children. They regularly use praise and offer gentle reminders. Children behave well and use good manners. They help with tasks, such as tidying up, which promotes their independence ready for the next stage of learning.
• Staff are motivated to undertake additional training and qualifications. They share their learning from training courses, which helps to improve practice across the setting. Leaders and managers show a genuine commitment to promoting the well-being of staff. As a result, staff comment that they feel valued and well supported in their work.
• Parents speak highly of the nursery and the caring staff. They acknowledge that their children have settled well. Parents comment that staff share noticeable improvements in their children's language skills, confidence and independence. They receive daily updates on their children's routines and learning. However, inconsistencies have been identified in the sharing of children's next steps in learning and ideas for their learning at home with parents.
• Staff develop a rich curriculum for children that encourages them to investigate and explore. During adult-led activities, such as messy play, they provide familiar materials to engage children's curiosity. However, staff do not fully consider how to organise the environment to ensure children have free access to a wider range of resources, such as books and mark-making opportunities to support their early reading and writing.
• Early mathematical language is emerging through children's play. Children count objects in picture books with staff and learn about positional language as they play in the sand.
• Leaders recognise the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and have adjusted their curriculum to reflect this. Attention has been given to supporting children's personal and social skills so that they can grow in confidence as they explore their surroundings and environment. Additionally, staff recognise that some children require additional support in further developing their language and physical skills.
• The new manager has a good understanding of the strengths and areas for development in relation to provision and staff practice. She spends time in the room observing staff and sets targets for their continued professional development in meetings.
• Staff teach children about healthy eating options, how these contribute to their good health and how some foods are not good for their teeth. They discuss the benefits of eating healthy food at snack time with children to help them understand the importance of making healthy choices. In addition, staff support parents with information to help them to provide their children with healthy food in their lunch boxes.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• share children's next steps in learning and ideas to extend their learning at home more consistently with parents
• expand opportunities for children to freely access a wider range of resources to support their early reading and writing.