Stepping Stones Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Babies are well cared for and the atmosphere in the room is calm and tranquil. They are highly engaged with their surroundings. Babies pick up the dried oats and drop them from a height, stimulating their curiosity. They laugh in delight and clap as the oats fall. Staff skilfully link nursery rhymes to activities and develop children's use of single words.

Children display impressive concentration levels when completing tasks. Toddlers love filling and emptying water. Pre-school children discuss and explore different occupations and how their roles assist the community. Children are imaginative and explore in various ways. For example, older children pretend to be firefighters and work collectively to extinguish a pretend fire. Children learn to adopt perseverance when their cars reach the end of the physical racetrack and need to land in a safe way.

Children behave reasonably and demonstrate that they feel safe and secure. Staff support children in dealing with any disagreements that arise in an effective and controlled way. For example, they praise toddlers who use 'kind hands' to share, when prompted by staff. When playing outdoors, older children wish to ride the bicycle and are reminded of the importance of taking turns. This activity helps children to grow in a positive environment and become fully aware of their actions.

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

• The swift intervention measures for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are excellent. Staff teach non-verbal children to communicate using pictorial prompts and relevant gestures. They encourage children to fully partake in activities and be involved with children of the same age group. The manager has proactively developed a sensory area which provides a range of hands-on resources to support children with SEND. The area provides the sensory stimulation needed to create a relaxing space for children to manage their feelings effectively.
• Additional funding, such as the early years pupil premium, is used productively. Staff have received additional training on a range of assessment tools for children with speech delay. However, the impact cannot be fully determined as the trial is in its early stages.
• Staff help to broaden children's knowledge of the world around them. They provide experiences, such as celebrating the Queen's Jubilee, through books and exciting conversations. This helps children to develop a greater understanding of the world around them.
• Staff guide toddlers and assist them on how to separate the herbs from the stalk. This helps strengthen children's small muscle skills. Together, children enjoy experimenting with fragrances, commenting on the ones they like and dislike. That said, staff do not always identify precisely what they intend children to learn when planning activities. Sometimes, they try to cover too many things at the same time. On occasion, this can be confusing for children.
• Independence is promoted, and children enjoy their sense of responsibility. Children remember to wash their hands after using the bathroom and before eating, incorporating healthy habits into their daily lives. Their independence provides them with confidence and prepares them for school.
• Children are offered a range of vegetables to explore. They develop their understanding of healthy meals and are encouraged to try new foods. Children show a particular fascination for beetroot.
• Parents state that they feel well informed about their children's learning and development practices. They praise the strong communication between the nursery and home, creating a positive continuation of learning.
• The manager has a clear focus on staff well-being. She provides regular professional development opportunities for all staff. However, support does not precisely identify what staff need to do next in order to raise the quality of their teaching further.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to always be clear about what they intend children to learn, so that children can make the best possible progress
• strengthen the use of strategies to consistently support individual children's communication and language development
• focus staff supervision more precisely on raising staff teaching skills to the highest level.