Sunrise Nurseries

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

All children, including those who speak English as an additional language, are supported to have a sense of belonging in the nursery. For instance, staff show younger children photos of their families, asking them to recognise familiar people. Children hear staff using their home language when they communicate to children about activities and routines. They have experiences to learn about their own cultures and traditions. Children are supported to understand how they can keep themselves safe. This includes staff talking to them about blowing on pretend hot food and using oven gloves when they use their imagination to play in a kitchen role-play area. Furthermore, when children try to put knives in their mouths at lunchtime, staff explain that they are to be used for cutting and scraping.

Children are supported to behave well, including listening and following instructions. For instance, staff sing a song to help children understand when it is time to tidy away toys. Staff give younger children direction, such as asking them to tidy away specific toys. This helps them to concentrate. Children build on their understanding of maths concepts that are weaved into discussions and daily routines. For instance, staff show children how to use their fingers to count the numbers for the hours they need to wait before their parents arrive. Furthermore, staff use positional language when asking children where they would like to sit at lunchtime.

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

• Staff are supported in their role. They have opportunities to build on their professional development. Recent training helps staff working with older children to promote their literacy skills. For example, they provide experiences for children to draw and make marks in different areas of the playroom.
• Children have daily fresh air and exercise. Staff take them for walks in the city and help them to learn and identify different forms of transport, such as busses and police cars.
• Staff work in partnership with parents and other professionals to meet children's individual needs. Targets are put in place and implemented to focus on supporting children's development. Staff use the same words and phrases as parents to promote consistency when they support children to learn how to share.
• Parents are kept informed about their children's learning and development. For instance, staff share photos of activities children enjoy and discuss with them how they intend to support their child's development. Furthermore, staff support parents to continue children's literacy skills at home, such as reading books with older children and using books with props with younger children.
• Staff offer children a nutritious range of snacks and meals. They help children to understand the benefits of these foods on their bodies. For instance, staff explain to children that if they eat vegetables, these will help them to grow big and strong.
• Children have opportunities to clean their teeth daily, promoting oral health. Staff provide children with their own toothbrushes and support them to clean their teeth. This includes them singing a song while children clean their teeth to help them clean them thoroughly.
• Overall, the curriculum to support children's communication and language skills is effective. For instance, staff sing songs during daily routines to support children's speaking skills. However, sometimes, when staff ask children questions, they answer themselves before giving children time to think and respond.
• Staff establish children's starting points in learning,. They use their own observations and comments from parents about their children's abilities on entry. Staff continue to observe and assess children to identify what they need to learn next. However, the systems in place for sharing this information between a child's key person and other staff is not fully effective. Therefore, when staff move rooms in the nursery, they do not always know how to support children's individual next steps in learning to help them make the best possible progress.
• Staff are sensitive and responsive to children's emerging needs. For instance, if very young children become upset, staff give them comfort, reassurance and use distraction to help them settle. When younger children wake from sleeping on mats, staff lay on the floor next to them and talk to them, helping children to wake slowly and not be rushed.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen the support for staff to implement the curriculum to build on children's communication skills, such as to think and respond to questions
• develop systems in place to share information with all staff about how they can build on children's individual learning needs.