Sunflower Day Nursery Courtenay Park

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children show they feel safe and secure through their positive relationships with staff and each other. They communicate their feelings confidently. Staff teach children about emotions and good manners. Babies and toddlers decide how they feel and choose a 'feelings bottle' to hold. They are polite and say 'excuse me' to their friends as they move past them. Pre-school-aged children are respectful and kind to their friends. For example, they know that a maximum of two friends can go into a tent to play together at one time. Pre-school-aged children wait patiently for their turn.

There is a well-designed communication and language curriculum that builds on what children know and need to learn next. Leaders use focus storybooks and rhymes for children to hear and know in each room as part of their learning. Staff help children to become familiar with the structure of stories and learn repetitive phrases and keywords to build on their vocabulary.

Parents value the regular updates they receive from staff about their children's progress. Staff inform parents of their children's next steps of development. Parents attend meetings with key persons and discuss ways they can support their child's learning further at home.

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

• Leaders have made good improvements since the last inspection. They ensure the environment is safe and warm for babies from the beginning of the day. Staff access regular supervision and leaders coach staff to improve their practice. For example, staff attend training to improve their knowledge and understanding of how to promote children's independence skills. Children have grown in confidence and develop their self-care skills effectively.
• Staff deepen pre-school-aged children's knowledge and understanding of reading and writing effectively. They help them to construct a storyline. Children decide on the main characters in the story and what key events may happen. They watch staff record their suggestions on paper and learn that writing is for a purpose. Staff prepare pre-school-aged children for their next stage in education effectively.
• Toddlers and babies are resilient and take age-appropriate risks while they play outside. Staff help to strengthen their mobility. Toddlers and babies climb to the top of the small climbing frame, hold hands with staff, and jump off. Sometimes they lose their balance after they jump, but quickly get back up and go around again for another turn.
• Children follow instructions well. For example, staff teach toddlers a technique to put their coats on. Toddlers follow the instructions and further develop their independence skills. Pre-school-aged children play a traffic light game and follow more complex instructions from staff. They remember to go over a bump, under the bridge, and around the roundabout.
• Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) effectively. They work with external professionals and implement strategies to help children with SEND make progress. For example, where children have limited speech, staff provide photos of objects in the environment for children to point at and show what they would like or need.
• Pre-school-aged children develop their listening skills. Staff play instruments behind a box and children listen to what they can hear. These children take turns describing if the sound they hear is long or short, soft or hard. However, staff do not consistently manage distractions during adult-led activities to ensure pre-school-aged children remain focused on their learning. For example, staff do not minimise background noise in the room and some children struggle to listen to the sounds.
• Staff help babies and toddlers learn self-care skills. They remind them to cover their mouths if they cough to reduce the spread of germs. Babies and toddlers know to wash their hands when they come inside from the garden. They dance and sing together while they wait for their lunch. Babies and toddlers enjoy this initially. However, staff do not always organise mealtime routines to ensure babies' and toddlers' well-being remains high. For example, babies and toddlers wait for a prolonged period for their lunch and some become agitated.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• manage distractions during adult-led activities to ensure pre-school-aged children remain focused on their learning
• organise mealtime routines to ensure babies' and toddler's well-being remains high.