Sunflower Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children show that they feel happy and safe at the nursery. They arrive confidently and often enter the setting without saying goodbye to their parents in their haste to start their day. New babies settle quickly with their key person, soon interacting with the other children and exploring the toys. Children feel comfortable to ask staff for help when needed. Babies and toddlers initiate cuddles with staff when they need reassurance, and they thoroughly enjoy staff's playfulness and participation in their games. Staff support children to understand the daily routines, which helps them to feel emotionally secure as they anticipate what will happen next.

Overall, the manager and staff support children's learning and development well. The curriculum they plan interests children and builds on what they need to learn next. Children make good progress and show positive attitudes to learning, hurrying over eagerly to take part when adults announce they will be starting an activity. The provision and support for babies are a particular strength of the setting. Staff working with the youngest children are clear about what they want the babies to learn and how to build on their skills and knowledge. For example, staff read books to the babies and engage them very well, teaching them new words and encouraging them to be curious.

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

• Since the last inspection, the provider and manager have worked hard to address the breaches of requirements. For example, they have trained staff on the importance of recording children's attendance accurately and how to promote health and hygiene through children's care routines.
• The provider and manager recognise the need to continue to review the quality of the provision to maintain good standards for children. For instance, they have developed the monitoring of staff's practice and safeguarding knowledge.
• Staff know the children well, including what the children know and can do. Staff plan enjoyable learning experiences for the children. At times, staff working with the pre-school children do not always consider what they want the children to learn from the activities they plan. During these occasions, the children do not receive highly effective and targeted support to extend their learning further.
• Staff identify when children may benefit from additional help and work with other professionals to seek guidance about how to meet the children's needs. However, the provider and manager do not support and coach staff to develop their knowledge of how to target the needs of these children more precisely through early intervention while they wait for initial assessments from other agencies.
• Overall, staff deploy themselves effectively and interact with children well, such as modelling a broad vocabulary. For example, children learn about and repeat the new words that staff use, such as 'jellyfish' and 'muscle'. However, staff do not consider how to support some of the toddlers when carrying out routine tasks, such as preparing for mealtimes and taking children to use the potty. Children play alone contentedly but do not receive the attention needed to extend their language development during these times.
• Staff support children to be independent and to manage tasks for themselves. For example, staff show the children how to open food packages and praise them enthusiastically when they succeed. Toddlers help to tidy away the toys without prompt. Pre-school children use cutlery at mealtimes and pour their own drinks.
• Children develop good physical skills. Babies have plenty of space and encouragement from staff to move around the room. Toddlers throw and kick balls and chase after them as they roll away. Pre-school children learn to propel themselves on bikes and ride-on toys, navigating obstacles safely.
• With gentle reminders from staff, children learn to be kind and make friends. Babies lightly pat the other children with interest and smile at each other. When they have finished playing with toys, toddlers and pre-school children pass them to their friends, who are waiting for a turn.
• Parents speak highly of the staff and manager. They comment that, since the last inspection, they have been kept well informed of the positive changes that have taken place. Staff provide parents with detailed information about their children's progress, including their child's next steps in learning, so that parents can build on this further at home.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff in the pre-school room to be clearer about what they want children to learn, to help them target the older children's individual learning needs more precisely and consistently
• develop the organisation of staff and how they manage their time and routines to ensure that toddlers receive more consistent support to extend their communication and language
• strengthen the support and coaching of staff, developing their knowledge and skills to find out how they can provide more targeted support and early intervention for children who require extra help.