Stepping Stones

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children show they feel happy, confident and secure in this nursery. Staff build warm, trusting bonds with children. They respond with care to each child's needs. They take time to get to know new children and offer calm reassurance and attentive care. Staff also model polite and respectful behaviour throughout the day and this impacts positively on the children. For instance, children are becoming patient and consider the needs of others around them. Staff offer children high praise for their individual achievements and support them well to continue to keep on trying.

Careful consideration is given to ensuring children develop physically. Children practise their skills in balancing and enjoy operating play equipment that helps strengthen their core muscles. Staff provide many opportunities for children to explore their fine motor movements. For instance, they successfully transfer coloured rice and pasta into different containers with tweezers. Children are enthusiastic as staff encourage their independence skills. Staff support children to put on their own shoes, provide opportunities for children to prepare their own snack and encourage children to make independent choices in their play and exploration. Children grow in confidence and independence and develop skills for future learning.

The nursery staff promote a love for reading and ensure children have access to a range of books in different areas to further support them as they play. Staff enthusiastically share the stories and children enjoy joining in.

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

• Since the last inspection, managers and staff have worked hard to improve the quality of the provision. They have reviewed the organisation of the environment and each session, ensuring children's individual needs are met. All children effectively engage in the interesting learning opportunities on offer.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive the help and support they need to make good progress. Staff are competent in making referrals. They work in partnership with parents, external agencies and other professionals to implement consistent and successful strategies to support children's learning and development.
• Staff support children's communication and language development effectively. For example, they follow children's lead in play. Staff clearly emphasise key words within their interactions and give time for children to think and respond. Staff are starting to use effective gestures in their communication. This helps children's understanding and language skills.
• Mathematical learning is woven effectively into daily routines and play. For example, staff make reference to size and volume. They use positional language within their interactions with children during their play and exploration. They encourage the children to count during their everyday routines and consider concepts, such as more and less. As a result, children make good progress in their mathematical development.
• Staff have supervision meetings in which managers monitor performance and set targets for improvement. Staff complete mandatory training, and professional development opportunities are available. However, managers do not implement a sharply focused professional development plan that consistently builds on staff's already good teaching skills and how they plan the curriculum. As a result, opportunities to further improve outcomes for children are not fully maximised.
• Staff plan a curriculum that supports children's development across all areas of learning. Each child has a key person, who provides consistent support to make progress, depending on their individual stages of learning and development. However, the curriculum does not always fully support children to learn about and reflect on their differences and understand what makes them unique.
• Staff talk to the children about the value of their nutritious snack and help them to identify healthy foods. Children thoroughly enjoy activities such as practising their good tooth brushing techniques, using a toothbrush and toothpaste on their model dinosaurs. Children gain a good understanding of healthy lifestyles.
• Parents speak highly of the staff at the nursery and express gratitude for the support and advice they offer them. Parents value the information shared about their children's learning and appreciate how staff support children's transitions into the nursery and eventually on to school.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support and focus training and professional development for all staff to further improve the quality of the already good curriculum and teaching
• enhance opportunities for children to learn about and reflect on their differences and understand what makes them unique, to prepare them for the diverse world around them.