St Stephen's Pre-School And Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happily at this friendly and welcoming nursery. They engage immediately in the exciting activities planned for them, which reflect their personal interests. As they arrive, children wait excitedly to see if they have grown as staff mark their height on a wall chart. Children develop their mathematical skills and understanding as staff share and model new vocabulary. For example, they introduce words such as 'tall' and 'tallest' as they compare the heights of different children. Young children enjoy filling containers with sand and rice. They are supported by staff to count how many scoops they need to fill their containers. Children greatly enjoy opportunities to play outside in the fresh air. They develop their imagination as they role play in the outdoor kitchen. They create secret drinks and giggle and laugh as staff taste and describe their 'special tea' as delicious.

Children learn independence skills. For example, they hang up their coats, wash their hands and collect their snacks from the kitchen counter. Staff consistently support children's language development. They sing songs and number rhymes with children as they wait for their friends to be seated at the snack table. As older children line up, they recite and learn the days of the week. Children smile with pride as they respond to questions asked by staff. For example, they correctly name the day that follows Thursday. Children build confidence and self esteem as staff consistently praise their efforts and achievements. Children learn to recognise their names as they find their personalised place mats before sitting down to eat their healthy fruit snacks. These skills help children to prepare well for the next stage of their education at school.

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

• The newly appointed leadership team has made significant changes since the previous inspection. It has worked effectively with staff to create an exciting and enabling learning environment that supports children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, to make good progress. The leaders are highly qualified and have a good knowledge and understanding of early childhood development. They have worked together with staff to plan a play-based curriculum that reflects the developing needs and interests of children.
• Leaders and staff gather information from parents about what their children know and can do when they arrive at the nursery. They use this information, along with ongoing observations of children, to identify starting points for their learning. Staff use reflective practice and evaluation of ongoing learning to track children's progress and identify what children need to learn next.
• Children enjoy a range of activities that develop their creative skills and imagination. They learn to share and take turns as they work together to complete giant spider paintings. However, staff do not consistently support children to develop the activities they enjoy when they encounter problems. For example, as children try to attach legs to their giant spider, they are not always supported to find different ways to do this successfully to extend their learning.
• Children develop their fine motor skills as they manipulate play dough, rolling and stretching it to make necklaces and bracelets. They enjoy using a range of resources, such as stencils and whiteboards, which help them develop early writing skills. Children play regularly outside, where they develop dexterity and hand-eye coordination as they post balls down pipes and excitedly try to catch them as they fall out. Children's physical development is supported well.
• Children's behaviour is good. They develop positive behaviours as they are supported by staff to learn how to recognise and manage their emotions. For example, when completing circle time games, children are encouraged to express and talk about how they are feeling. Children happily follow established routines within the nursery. Staff consistently praise good manners and the positive behaviours of children as they respond respectfully to instructions.
• Parents report that their children feel safe and secure in this friendly nursery. They explain that staff are approachable and supportive. Parents feel that their children make good progress. However, not all parents feel able to fully support their children's learning at home because they are not always made aware of their children's next steps in learning.
• Staff receive regular supervision and feel that their well-being is considered and supported by leaders. Leaders regularly review and evaluate the quality of teaching and learning across the nursery. They have implemented coaching, mentoring and training opportunities for staff to further develop their practice. Leaders have worked effectively in partnership with the local authority and other early years professionals to successfully improve and develop their nursery provision.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop the use of adult interactions to support children to think critically about their learning and solve problems as they play
• enhance communication with all parents to ensure that staff share specific information about their children's learning and progress with them.