Sunflower Stalybridge

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Sunflower Nursery is a warm and welcoming place where children are well cared for and nurtured. Value is placed on developing safe and trusting relationships between staff, children and their families. The staff are excellent role models, consistently encouraging children to be sociable, respectful and kind to each other. This helps young children learn how to manage their own feelings and form lovely friendships. Babies form strong attachments with their key person, as staff understand how to interact sensitively, using lots of smiles, singing and gestures.

There is a hive of activity throughout the nursery. Children are encouraged to use their imagination and have ideas of their own. Toddlers giggle as they jump up and down, reaching up high to pop bubbles. In the pre-school room, children are excited to build a boat out of boxes and go on a treasure hunt. They search for shiny things and make treasure maps. Lots of laughter can be heard as children learn through playful interactions and thoughtful conversations. The manager and staff are passionate about doing their very best for the children, enabling them to grow and learn in a safe environment; this shines through all that they do.

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

• Leaders and staff are passionate about building strong partnerships with parents. From testimonials provided at the inspection, it is clear that the parents hold the nursery in high regard and value the staff. Parents that cannot come into the nursery as they usually would, talk about the quality of information shared. They are confident that their children are safe, their individual needs are being met and that their children are making good progress.
• Good attitudes to attendance are promoted. To prevent children from falling behind due to absences during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, leaders are flexible in finding ways to help children to catch up. Leaders keep in touch with parents during temporary closures, providing information on how to support children's learning at home.
• The leadership and management of this nursery are strong. Self-evaluation is accurate and identifies areas for staff and managers to develop further. A comprehensive programme of supervision and professional support helps staff to develop their practice and improve outcomes for children. Staff have opportunities to learn through accessing a variety of training, including learning from each other through peer support and mentoring.
• Leaders do all they can to ensure that children's individual needs are met. The special educational needs coordinator is passionate about her role. She works closely with children, parents and other professional agencies to get the best care and outcomes for children.
• The staff know their key children well and can outline what they expect children to know and learn by the end of each phase of their journey through nursery. However, sometimes, staff do not plan age-appropriate learning opportunities specific to the needs of two-year-olds.
• Staff interact effectively with children to develop children's understanding of words and extend their vocabulary. However, staff's knowledge of how to sequence language development from babies through to pre-school needs to be embedded to ensure a more consistent approach throughout the nursery.
• Children are encouraged to be independent and develop their personal skills. Young children understand the daily routines in place to stay clean and healthy. They help to clear away snack pots and are supported to wash their hands correctly.
• Staff consult with older children in the out-of-school club, valuing their opinions and plan for activities and environments that will engage and motivate them.
• A variety of experiences are provided when possible for children to go on outings within the local community. The children have been to the local woodland making collections and bringing them into the nursery. The children learn in an age-appropriate way about festivals and the celebrations of different cultures. These are all opportunities that help children to understand their place in the community and give them a wider view of the world around them.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to increase their knowledge of how to develop communication and language skills at each stage in children's learning and embed a consistent approach to language development across the nursery
• review and develop the learning intentions for two-year-olds so that the curriculum provided reflects the specific needs of this age group.