Sunnyside Day Care

Inclusion: Expected standard

Leaders create an inclusive environment, where staff have high expectations for all children. Children's needs are swiftly and accurately identified, in partnership with parents and through regular assessments. Staff adapt their practice to ensure children's individual needs are met. For example, they use visual prompts, simple language and repetition to help children develop their communication and language skills and express their needs.

Individualised plans are developed with the support from external specialists. These identify children's achievements and appropriate activities to support their next steps in learning. Although staff and leaders review these plans, children would benefit from a more consistent approach in updating these.

Leaders and staff use their knowledge of children's individual needs to help use additional funding in positive ways. For example, funding has been used to develop a calming sensory area, which supports children to regulate their emotions. Leaders work collaboratively with local partners to ensure barriers to learning are reduced for children. Staff receive relevant training to help them understand and respond to children's specific needs. This ensures all children can fully participate in all learning experiences and daily routines.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Leaders have an improved understanding and oversight of the quality of the curriculum and teaching across the setting. Leaders have supported staff to design and implement a curriculum that teaches across all areas of learning and development. This builds on children's current knowledge and skills. Staff use their observations, assessments and knowledge of children to plan effectively for children's next steps in learning. There is a focus on children's communication and language development. Staff use their interactions and activities to promote children's use of vocabulary. For instance, younger children repeat and copy words such as 'pop' and 'blow' when playing with bubbles. Older children develop their language skills through their love of stories, action songs and activities that staff know the children are interested in, such as imaginative dinosaur play.

Leaders ensure the curriculum is typically taught well by staff. There has been an increased focus on teaching mathematics clearly to children. Staff have incorporated these concepts appropriately through daily routines and play experiences, including counting how many red chairs there are at lunchtime and encouraging children to recognise when their cup is empty or half full. However, leaders do not ensure teaching is of consistently high quality, which would help children to excel further with their learning and development.

Achievement: Expected standard

All children typically make appropriate progress from their individual starting points across all areas of learning. Children learn age-appropriate self-help and independence skills. For example, younger children learn how to drink from open cups. Older children learn to put their own shoes on and use knives to cut fruit. Through positive, warm and caring interactions with staff, children are developing their confidence and curiosity to have a go and try new experiences. Children focus their attention and concentration on stimulating activities, alongside their peers. They develop healthy attitudes towards eating nutritious food and looking after their oral health.

Children are building firm foundations and progressing to their next stage in learning. However, due to the lack of consistent high-quality teaching, children are not as well prepared for their next stage of learning as they could be.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Leaders and staff create a positive culture, where children are taught the importance of showing kindness and respect to each other. Key-person arrangements provide support for children's emotional development. Children experience warm, caring and trusting relationships with staff. This helps children to settle well and become actively engaged in their learning. There are generally high and realistic expectations for children to behave in positive ways. However, this needs to be consistently embedded across all age groups. Children receive lots of praise to help reinforce positive behaviours and encourage healthy attitudes towards their learning. For example, staff express their delight when children learn how to put their own shoes on and try new foods. Children are thrilled with their achievements. This has a positive impact on children's confidence, self-esteem and resilience.

Staff adjust their practice and tailor interventions, which are responsive to children's needs, including children who may face barriers to their learning. Children understand the daily routine and talk about what comes next, which provides them with the reassurance they need at times. These routines are typically well organised. However, on some occasions, such as lunchtime, older children have unnecessary waiting times and less opportunity to develop their independence skills.

Leaders fully promote children's attendance through partnerships with parents and effective systems for reporting absences.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Leaders generally prioritise children's individual care, health and wellbeing through established policies and daily routines. Children access a safe, secure and welcoming play environment, where they feel confident to explore. Children show they have developed warm and trusting relationships with their key person and other familiar staff. This supports children's emotional wellbeing, helping them feel secure and settled. Staff work closely with parents and external professionals to ensure children's individual needs are met, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face barriers to learning and wellbeing. Leaders ensure that staff receive specialised training when required.

Staff support children to develop an understanding of healthy lifestyles through discussions about physical exercise, healthy eating and self-care routines. For example, children have discussions about eating fruit and vegetables and how doing so will help them grow strong. Mealtimes typically provide opportunities for children to develop self-help skills, such as feeding themselves and pouring their own drinks. However, opportunities for older children to develop their independence are more limited. Children are typically expected to follow appropriate hygiene routines, such as washing their hands before all meals. Children understand they need to wash their hands, but staff do not teach children effectively why this is important to their health.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Leaders demonstrate a clear and suitable vision for the quality of care and education. Following the last inspection, leaders have taken positive action to address their priorities for improvement. For example, curriculum planning has been improved, so activities across the day are purposeful and linked to children's next steps in learning. Leaders have future plans to increase the quality of teaching so this is consistently high across the team. Leaders and staff are passionate about providing safe and engaging learning environments where all children achieve and flourish. There is a culture of continual improvement, where staff take on board external advice to develop their practice for the benefit of the children.

Staff feel valued and well supported by leaders through effective systems such as regular supervision and professional development opportunities. This means staff are well equipped to meet the needs of all children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who may face other barriers to their learning. Staff receive specialised training and work with external professionals so children's needs are met effectively and safely.

Leaders actively engage with parents and other organisations to ensure children have full access to their education entitlement. Staff share information with parents and offer ideas about how to extend children's learning at home.