Sunny Day Nursery & Play Club

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enjoy their time at the nursery. They form positive relationships with staff. Those who need more reassurance receive cuddles and support from staff, who show empathy and consideration for children's feelings and emotions. Key persons know children well, including their experiences at home and where the children are in their development.

Staff understand the learning intentions of the activities they provide. There are clear expectations for all children's learning and progress. The curriculum builds as children progress through the nursery. For example, the baby and toddler rooms currently have a focus on children's communication and language development and their personal, social and emotional needs. In the pre-school room, the curriculum then further builds on children's independence and self-help skills, preparing them for their eventual transition to school. Staff skilfully weave these priorities into the daily routines. They offer a wide range of sensory and messy play opportunities. Staff introduce new vocabulary as children explore the different textures. Children, including those who speak English as an additional language, hear and learn new words. This supports children's good communication and language development.

Children behave well. The staff give children consistent messages and support regarding managing their own behaviour and how this may impact on others. Staff support younger children to regulate their emotions and are sensitive towards their feelings. They guide children to make the right choices. Children understand the expectations and their behaviour is good.

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

• Since the last inspection, the leadership team has made improvements to the nursery. Staff have embarked on further training to increase their knowledge and understanding of how children learn. They have received help from the local authority to support them in their progression. This has had a positive impact on the provision and the children benefit from a range of child-centred activities, based around their needs and development.
• Staff engage children in meaningful conversation and provide running commentaries during activities. They have a clear comprehension of how children develop their conversation skills. Staff introduce new words to challenge children's ability to communicate and increase their vocabulary. However, on occasion, staff sometimes provide the solution to a problem and are not consistent when asking questions to encourage children to think critically and solve problems for themselves.
• Staff help children to develop the skills they need for the future, including independence. This is well embedded throughout the nursery. For example, babies sit together to eat their lunch. The staff support children who are ready to feed themselves by using encouragement and modelling what to do with forks. Across the setting, staff consistently recognise and provide praise for children who persevere to do things for themselves. This supports children's emotional development and well-being.
• Children are motivated to join in with the activities provided. Overall, staff engage them well in play and show them how to use different resources. However, on occasion, older babies and toddlers do not receive the support and attention from staff to help them stay focused and they become distracted. For example, when staff prepare children for sleep or get children ready to go home, some children wander around the room waiting for interaction from staff. This means that, during these short periods, children are not fully engaged in their play and learning.
• Staff throughout the nursery use age-appropriate methods to support children's behaviour. Babies are encouraged to use 'gentle hands' when playing excitedly with their friends. Toddlers discuss the impact that not taking turns and sharing has on their friends during activities. Pre-school children construct their rules that they follow well. As a result of this consistent approach, children of all ages behave well in the nursery.
• Staff identify opportunities to introduce maths during children's daily experiences. For example, they encourage children to count steps as they walk inside. They also invite children to count how many spoonsful of pumpkin they add to their bowls during a messy play activity. This gives children opportunities to practise counting which helps them to embed this knowledge.
• The setting has heavily focused on strengthening communication and engagement with families. This includes giving staff support to provide effective handovers when parents collect their children. Parents state they are well informed about their child's time at nursery and improvements have been seen with the new management in place.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review and improve transition periods so that children are engaged in meaningful learning during these times
• use effective questioning techniques to help them think critically and solve problems independently.