Sticky Mits Childcare Centre

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thrive in this welcoming environment, where staff go out of their way to support children and their families. This inclusive setting provides support for many children who speak English as an additional language. Staff use lots of singing and familiar books to introduce new words to children. They learn words from children's home languages to help them to communicate and feel comfortable. Staff communicate well with parents, using interpreters where required. Children have many opportunities to learn about the world around them. They widen their experiences, such as by going on trips to the local market, bus station, train station, library and wildlife park.

Children have access to high-quality stimulating resources and activities, which staff use to help promote children's learning and development. For example, despite the nursery not having direct access to an outdoor area, children access a dedicated physical room each day. In this space, children ride bicycles, jump, climb and take part in yoga sessions to promote their physical development. The key-person system is effective, and children receive good support and attention. Staff know the children in their care well. This enables them to plan for the next steps for each child's learning effectively. Pre-school children are confident to talk about what they like to do at the setting, such as playing in the water and playing with their friends.

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

• Staff work well with other professionals to provide support for children with additional communication needs. They help children to understand instructions and develop their language. For example, staff use visual supports, such as gestures, signs, pictures and objects, while saying the word.
• Staff know each child's needs well. They build relationships with families and plan individual settling-in programmes to suit each family's needs. Staff get to know children and are alert to any barriers they face. They quickly identify and meet the needs of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff make sure that the curriculum is engaging and appropriate for each child. They make swift referrals to external agencies in order to help each child receive the support that they need.
• Babies develop secure attachments with staff, who are warm and responsive to their needs. Staff sing familiar nursery rhymes to calm, soothe and build their language. Children explore their environment. Babies crawl from the climbing frame to the ball pool and select toys along the way. Children demonstrate their trust in the staff when they show interest in visitors. They gradually approach them, looking back to their key person for reassurance.
• Children are generally well behaved and play with, or alongside, each other well.
• For example, children play together independently in the home corner, pretending to cook. They share the pasta and utensils and give their pretend meals to other children. However, staff are not consistent in how they manage children's behaviour. For example, on occasion, staff remove children from an activity after displaying unwanted behaviour, while on another occasion, children are spoken to at great length about their behaviour. At other times, staff do not follow up on children's behaviour. This does not provide a consistent message to children about the behaviour that is expected of them.
• Children show good independence skills. They pull up their sleeves and put on their own aprons to play in the water. Children wash their hands independently in preparation for lunch and self-serve their own food. They confidently feed themselves and drink from open-top cups.
• Managers work closely with staff to ensure that they receive the right support. They place a high priority on staff's training, which is valued by staff. All staff undertake mandatory training as well as other training to support them in their role. Staff talk about feeling supported by managers. They express gratitude for the support from the directors, who are passionate about the setting and the community they serve.
• There is a clear, ambitious curriculum in place, which is embedded throughout the nursery. Staff are fully aware that children start the nursery with varied levels of development. They work hard to help children to make progress before starting school. However, some interactions between staff and children do not consistently extend children's learning in all areas. For example, when children hand a toy car to staff, they repeat the word 'car' without extending children's language.
• Staff use mathematical language. For example, they count before lifting children out of highchairs. Two-year-old children count cars as they send them down the ramp. Pre-school children count pieces of pasta independently as they place them in the pan. They use language, such as 'small', 'big', 'sink' and 'float', when they play in the water.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• ensure that staff use a consistent approach towards managing children's behaviour throughout the setting
• provide children with opportunities to extend their learning through quality interactions.