St. Thomas's Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are well cared for in the loving and nurturing environment that the setting provides. Staff build meaningful relationships with children, offering plenty of cuddles throughout the day. This gives children a secure sense of belonging. Children are happy and confident. They are proud of the work that they achieve, and enthusiastically share this with staff members. For instance, children draw pictures of themselves and family members on holiday at a beach and excitedly show staff.

Children are exceptionally well behaved. They are able to listen attentively to staff and follow instructions given. For example, children sit and listen to staff about the importance of handwashing before baking. Children are able to share resources and are able to take turns, which is preparing them for their next stage in education.

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are exceptionally well cared for. The setting goes above and beyond to make sure it provides an inclusive environment. All children are confident in singing nursery rhymes using sign language. This ensures that all children, including those with SEND, make good progress.

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

• The highly qualified staff plan exciting and engaging activities that centre on children's current interests. Children in the toddler room engage in water play. They build on their fine-motor skills as they use paintbrushes and water. Children are deeply engrossed in this activity and are fascinated as they make marks on the colour-changing mat.
• Children build on their confidence as they engage in role play activities. They take on roles in a restaurant, pretending to be customers and waitresses. They confidently talk to each other about what they would like to order. They are able to play well together and share resources, without staff intervention.
• There is a strong love of books shown throughout the setting. All rooms have a well-resourced reading corner. Even younger children access books independently. They hold books the right way around and flick through the pages, looking at the pictures. The setting engages the children in reading 'The Colour Monster'. The book explains feelings in a child-friendly way, using different colours for different emotions. The children thoroughly enjoy the book and use the colours to explain how they feel. For example, red for 'angry' and pink for 'loved'. However, during storytelling in group sessions, some children appear disengaged and start to talk among themselves.
• Staff support mathematical development well. Children learn early mathematical skills in a fun and engaging way. For example, during a hopscotch game outdoors, staff skilfully introduce addition by asking, 'What number would you get to if we add three?'. Children then jump three jumps and shout out the number.
• Children take part in a minibeast hunt in the outdoor area. They are in awe and wonder when they find a ladybird. Staff again support those early mathematical skills by encouraging children to count the spots of the ladybird and talk about the shape of the spots. Children show delight and excitement when they find a caterpillar. They look at the legs of the caterpillar and comment on how fast it can wiggle across their fingers. Children take turns in holding the caterpillar. They recall knowledge from past experiences and talk about when the caterpillar will turn into a cocoon.
• Babies are well supported in making attachments with their key person and they receive lots of cuddles and reassurance. Babies play with mirrored blocks and a shiny mat, introducing them to different textures and some sensory experiences. However, all children would benefit from more sensory play and messy play activities, to provide them with experiences that they would not have access to elsewhere.
• Staff feel well supported and are confident in seeking help from their management team. There is a buddy system in place to ensure that all staff are helped to deliver high-quality teaching. Staff speak fondly of their leaders and managers and are happy within their working environment. This results in a very low turnover of staff. Staff comment that they feel like part of a family working here.
• Parents speak highly about the nursery. They compliment the staff on their ability to settle children. Parents explain that the staff research what the children like at home and their favourite toys. Staff use this information to carefully set up the nursery environment, which successfully helps children to make easy transitions from home to nursery. Parents are also happy with the support children receive when making transitions on to school. Staff plan school trips to the local school. Parents feel confident that their children are ready for their next stage in learning when leaving to go to school. Parents are also happy with the resource packs the nursery provides to enable them to support children's learning at home.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to provide group activities which meet the needs of all children
• provide more opportunities for children to experience sensory and messy play to enhance their learning further.