Start Right Nursery Ancaster Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children behave well and show kindness to their peers. When they see other children upset, they show them toys and try to distract them. Children share resources with their friends, such as scissors. They show positive relationships with staff. Young children sit on a member of staff's knee to take off their boots. When staff provide them with comfort, children smile and show that they are happy.

Children are supported to develop their self-care skills. Very young children are given a spoon and encouraged to begin to feed themselves. Pre-school children use spoons to serve themselves meals. Staff understand how children learn. They support very young children to develop their understanding of gravity. Children are excited to watch staff hold leaves up high and let them drop through their fingers. Toddlers look in fascination when they watch how the wind blows flour out of their hands in the garden. Older children explore how to use equipment in different ways. For example, they use plastic pipes to try to dig for worms in soil. Staff help to extend children's understanding of the objects they play with. For example, when children play with toy dinosaurs, staff tell them what the dinosaurs are called and read them information from books about each dinosaur's individual traits, such as what they ate.

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

• Staff support children's communication and language skills well. For example, they sing nursery rhymes with children. Staff ask older children a good range of questions and give them time to respond. This encourages children's thinking skills. Staff encourage children to develop their vocabulary. For example, they introduce new words for children to copy, such as 'squish' and 'squeeze' when children manipulate dough in their hands.
• Staff implement a curriculum to help children develop skills for the future, such as to be independent. For example, they encourage very young children to begin to learn how to use safety knives to spread butter on their crackers at snack time. Staff encourage toddlers to help dress themselves in appropriate clothing when they want to play outside. Pre-school children learn techniques to put on their coats by themselves. These include laying their coats on the floor, putting their arms in and flipping the coats over their heads.
• The manager supports staff to extend their professional development. Staff complete forest school training. They have noticed how outdoor learning supports children's confidence and helps to develop their imaginative skills. For example, children use sticks as wands and talk about their experiences.
• Staff provide children with activities to reflect their interests. However occasionally, when staff are new or if staff are absent, information about how to build on children's individual learning is not shared fully with other staff.
• Therefore, some children do not receive the highest level of support for their learning during chosen activities.
• Staff say that they feel supported with their well-being. They value that the manager has an open-door policy and they can speak to her at any time. Staff appreciate the little gifts they receive, such as food, drinks and jokes in the staff room. This creates a culture of care and respect which, in turn, results in good outcomes for children.
• Children are supported to understand how to take care of their teeth. When they comment on how big a toy dinosaur's teeth are, staff use this opportunity to talk to children about how often they need to clean their own teeth. Children say they clean them with toothpaste and get a sticker when they go to the dentist.
• Staff give children plenty of praise and encouragement for their achievements. For example, they say 'well done' when children push their feet into their boots. This helps to raise children's self-esteem.
• The manager spends additional funding effectively to meet the needs and interests of individual children. For example, children have equipment that is readily available to enable them to make their own play dough.
• Parents appreciate the information they receive about their children's learning and the activities they enjoy. Staff encourage parents to continue to support children's development at home, such as their literacy skills. For example, children take home books to encourage parents to read to them.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to fully identify how to build on all children's learning during their chosen activities.