Stonecroft Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children clearly demonstrate that they are happy, safe and emotionally secure. If babies are a little unsettled on arrival, staff sensitively reassure them, and babies are quickly excited by the activities and smile. Children have positive relationships with the staff and each other. Staff are kind and gentle, being good role models, so children learn to respect each other's differences.

Overall, leaders and staff plan an effective curriculum and organise the environment successfully to enable children to make good progress. For example, all children access books, and staff engage well, such as helping babies make the noises of animals. Toddlers enthusiastically hold up their characters when they hear staff read about them, helping them to listen and concentrate. Staff pause reading so that children can say familiar lines, demonstrating their recall of the story. Staff encourage older children to use books to extend their knowledge, such as describing a caterpillar turning into a butterfly.

Children have good opportunities to be active learners and develop safe and healthy lifestyles. For example, staff hold babies to enable them to bounce on a small trampoline, strengthening their legs for walking, while having fun. Children climb, balance and use a slide outdoors, developing their control and coordination.

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

• The leadership team provide good support for staff development. They ensure that all staff have a clear understanding of their safeguarding responsibilities and attend regular training to keep up to date. Leaders provide good support for staff's well-being, so they have a happy, enthusiastic team, which has a positive impact on children. They have recently improved their self-evaluation to target improvements more precisely and are looking at ways to seek parents' feedback.
• Staff have recently had support and guidance on managing children's behaviour. Starting with babies, they now support all children in expressing their feelings and understanding their emotions appropriately, such as using visual aids. Staff use good techniques, such as gaining children's attention, explaining transitions and giving simple choices. Older children learn to manage conflict for themselves.
• Staff observe children successfully, enabling them to understand what children need to be learning next. They plan for children effectively to engage in purposeful play and learning. However, planning in the outside area is not as effective as that indoors, especially when all children are out together. Although young children enjoy exploring, they do not always receive focused support to make as much progress as they could.
• Children become highly independent. Through good interaction from staff, children keep trying new skills, doing as much as they can for themselves. For example, babies learn to feed themselves and use beakers to drink. Toddlers find their shoes and persevere with putting them on, while staff explain and demonstrate what to do. By pre-school, children collect and clear away their meals and can take themselves to the toilet and wash their hands. This prepares them well for school.
• Staff implement the curriculum for children's communication and language development well. They respond to babies babbling and engage toddlers in back-and-forth conversation. Staff add vocabulary and check children's understanding. Older children have fun painting butterflies while learning about the word 'symmetrical', for example. However, on occasion, staff do not always extend children's ideas and comments to sustain their thinking even further.
• Those responsible for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) know them and their families well. The manager ensures that staff use funding effectively to meet children's individual needs and ensure an inclusive setting. Staff plan for experiences children may not have at home, such as babies experiencing paint and other messy activities.
• Leaders and staff have strong partnerships with parents and other providers sharing care of children. Parents are highly positive about their children's development, especially in confidence and language skills. Parents confirm how well they work with others to share ideas and information, especially to support children with SEND. This provides a consistent approach and enables all parents to support their children's learning at home.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen the curriculum and staff's awareness of children's individual next steps of development in the outdoor area so that all children make the best progress they can
• focus staff's development on extending children's ideas and comments to sustain their thinking and develop their learning further.