Storth House

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are excited as they enter the nursery. They are eager to show staff what they have brought for their jubilee tea party. Staff engage the children from first entering the nursery. This helps children to separate easily from parents and carers. Children demonstrate wonderful manners as they share and take turns in their play. They happily cheer and encourage their friends as they come down the slide. This helps children to feel safe.

Children enthusiastically join in with the wide range of activities on offer. For example, when children want to make snails, staff provide an activity to make pizza whirls. Children take turns to weigh and measure the dough ingredients. They mix, knead and roll out their pizza dough. Children ask what the purée is made from and the best place to eat pizza. A child says,' On holiday'. Children are making good progress in their learning and development, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Children develop their physical skills well in preparation for writing. For example, children use tweezers to develop their pincer grip. They carefully navigate the spider web to collect the minibeasts from the tray. They match the bugs to the bug hunt picture and talk about the minibeasts they collect. Children learn about the natural world while developing their writing skills.

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

• Since the setting's last inspection, many improvements have been made to their practice. They have implemented a curriculum that supports children's independence and willingness to keep trying. For example, children serve their own snacks and meals. They help each other as they put on their coats. Resources are easily accessible to children including babies and children with SEND. As a result, children are making good progress.
• Staff promote children's communication and language skills effectively. For example, children enjoy reading books. They happily point out the characters and talk about what is going to happen. Staff repeat words and check that children understand their meaning. However, staff do not always consider the effects that background noise and the volume of staff's voices have on children's listening and understanding of words.
• Staff incorporate mathematics into all activities to ensure children understand number, size and shapes. For example, children replicate numbers using dough, counting them out as they make them. Others count how many tyres they will need for their bus outside. Children use scales and jugs to measure ingredients. Children learn to understand mathematical language.
• The nursery's special educational needs coordinator is very knowledgeable about the children who require additional support. She works closely with each child's key person, family and external agencies. This is to ensure they receive timely interventions and targeted support to meet their development needs. As a result, children with SEND are making good progress.
• Babies' interests are wonderfully supported in the baby room. They hold the dolls as they give them a bubble bath, then wrap them in towels to dry. Babies laugh and jump as they catch and pop the bubbles. They listen carefully as a staff member reads a favourite story. Babies make good progress in their learning and development.
• Managers have taken on board previous inspection comments and sought external assistance. They have worked together to improve the nursery and outcomes for children. For example, most staff have recently taken on the role of key person. This will enable staff to focus more on individual children and provide unique learning opportunities based on their needs and interests.
• Managers provide staff with regular opportunities to discuss safeguarding children, child development and any training requirements that they may have. For example, all staff have recently completed training on supporting children aged 0 to two years. This has had a positive impact on the provision for younger children.
• Partnership with parents is good. Parents are happy with the care the nursery provides and comment that the children are eager to attend. They are kept informed of their child's day and routine. Parents have been informed of the recent changes to their child's key person.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• continue to embed the recent changes to the key-person system to ensure children form secure attachments to their key person
• consider the impact that background noise and staff voice levels have on the development of children's communication and language.