Sunbeams

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children receive a warm, friendly welcome as they arrive. They form special bonds with the staff, who know the children and their families extremely well. Staff have high expectations for all children and work well together to provide a homely atmosphere. Children show that they feel safe and secure. They confidently explore the learning opportunities that staff provide. Children are very well behaved and cooperate well with their peers. They are kind, show respect towards each other and play harmoniously. Children are encouraged to try new activities with their friends. They learn in a stimulating and fun environment. Children access a good balance of free-choice and adult-led activities, both inside and outside. Babies enjoy cuddles and playing peekaboo with caring staff. Toddlers keenly explore the sand in their own indoor sand area and enthusiastically sing nursery rhymes. Pre-school children play well together, building different designs and pushing their toy vehicles across and down the wooden planks.

Staff deliver a suitably challenging curriculum that supports all children to learn the key skills they need to be confident and ready for their next stage in learning. The manager and staff receive valuable support from the owner and share a passion to provide children with the best possible opportunities.

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

• Since the last inspection, the manager and staff have received training and have made improvements to their practice. However, some systems to monitor staff's progress and to help them improve the quality of their teaching are not fully embedded. As a result, not all interactions with children are of a high quality and do not always contribute well to delivering the curriculum intent.
• Parents speak highly about the quality of care and education their children receive. They comment that the nursery is like a 'home from home'. Staff gather key information when children start to attend. However, they do not consider sufficient ways to help parents to support and extend their child's learning at home, including how to encourage a love of reading.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported very well. Detailed plans are in place and used effectively. Staff actively engage and share information with other professionals, support parents and help to ensure that children reach their full potential.
• Babies receive high levels of care. They enjoy different sensory experiences. For example, they happily sit in a large tray of coloured rice and use spoons to scoop or their fingers to pick up the grains. There are lots of smiles and chatter as staff talk about what they are doing and praise them for their achievements.
• Physical development is promoted well. Babies beam with joy as they practise early walking skills and show increasing confidence to climb steps and go down a slide. Children visit nearby parks and enjoy using a variety of equipment with staff's assistance and supervision.
• Staff use assessment effectively and plan activities based on children's interests in order to increase children's engagement. For example, staff use children's interest in what they saw at the park. They place bunches of daffodils on tables for pre-school children to touch and to inspire them to paint pictures.
• Staff actively support children's health and independence. Nutritious snacks and cooked midday meals are provided. Pre-school children confidently serve themselves and carry their plates of food back to the table. They tidy up when they have finished eating. Younger children receive helpful support to use cutlery and learn good table manners. Babies are encouraged to feed themselves safely. There are dental products and information for parents to promote oral health at home.
• Children's imagination is supported well. Staff provide a range of ordinary, real-life items for children to use. Staff help children to support their natural curiosity and give them the confidence to develop their own ideas. Children become deeply involved in their play. For example, there is lots of laughter as staff join in with fictional telephone conversations with parents, sharing pre-school children's stories of pretending to be family pets.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• continue to focus on improving supervision and support of staff to ensure that their interactions with children are of a high quality and contribute well to delivering the curriculum intent
• consider more ways to help parents to support and extend their child's learning at home, including how to encourage a love of reading.