Sunnysmiles Childcare Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enjoy attending this nursery. They hang their name up when they arrive and enjoy seeing photos of themselves on display. This helps to support their sense of belonging in the nursery. Staff make special books with children's family photos in, which children choose to look at with their friends. They know children well and plan activities which spark their interest and support their learning and development. The curriculum ensures that all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), make progress. Staff identify any gaps in children's learning quickly and put support in place.

Children's behaviour is good. Staff encourage children to share and take turns. They support children to talk about how they are feeling at key times during the day and there is a space if they want to sit quietly. Staff organise the day so that children spend time engaging with their friends of all ages in the nursery. They also plan additional small-group activities to ensure that their teaching is relevant to children's different stages of development and interests. Older children offer encouragement to their friends. For instance, they help each other to draw hearts on the whiteboard. Children praise their friends when they stand back and look at what they have drawn. They are excited to share their achievements with staff.

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

• Children enjoy reading books at the nursery, on their own and with their friends. During group story times, staff introduce new vocabulary, such as 'author' and 'illustrator', to children. They use their voices animatedly to engage children's sustained attention and encourage them to join in by pausing at key points in the story. Children enjoy joining in to help to count all the fruit the hungry caterpillar munched through.
• Leaders and staff support children with SEND are well. They work with the local authority to ensure that they are able to support children and their families effectively. Staff work closely with parents and put in place strategies for working with children who speak English as an additional language or who have developing language skills, so they can support their early communication.
• Generally, staff set clear expectations for children's behaviour. When it is time to tidy up for lunch, staff support children to think about where things need to be put away. However, at other times, staff do not make their expectations clear for children. For example, when younger children drop their coat on the floor, staff pick it up and hang it up for them. As a result, children are not able to fully develop their understanding of the things they can do for themselves.
• Children use the nursery garden throughout the day. They enjoy gardening, bathing baby dolls and playing with water. Staff teach children about nature. For instance, when searching on the ground to see if they can find some bugs, children spot two snails. Staff remind them that they need to be gentle and take care of growing creatures.
• Children engage in their learning independently most of the time. However, at times, some children lack focus and need a member of staff to interact and direct them to an activity. Sometimes, leaders have to point this out to staff. For example, they suggest possible alternative activities to engage children who are getting restless waiting to go home at the end of the day.
• Staff and leaders foster positive partnerships with parents. Parents say their children are happy in the nursery and that communication is good. They appreciate the ideas which staff share for how they can support their children's learning and development at home.
• Staff report that they like working in the nursery. They feel their well-being is a priority for leaders and can ask for support or advice whenever they need. Staff receive regular supervision meetings and training as a team, which ensures they can ask any questions they may have.
• Staff support children's health. For example, they remind children about the importance of washing their hands regularly, including when they come inside from the garden. Children have access to healthy snacks and brush their teeth after lunch.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• ensure that all staff consistently reinforce their expectations for children to support them to further develop their self-care skills
• strengthen staff's awareness of when to engage with children, to ensure that their interactions are of a consistently high quality throughout the day.