Sutton Centre Under Fives

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children show that they feel safe and secure in the nursery. They are happy to separate from parents and know the routine when they arrive. Children put their lunch boxes on a trolley, hang their coats and wash their hands to promote good hand-hygiene routines. Children have opportunities to have a sense of responsibility. For example, they collect milk cartons at the end of snack times and help staff to tidy away toys.

Children are keen to explore the good range of toys and resources offered. They learn the names of different animals, such as an ostrich, when staff show them a toy ostrich. Children safely cut around pictures of animals and use them to make puppets to help them to follow a story. Children have opportunities to develop their mathematical skills. For example, they are asked to count the number of children in a group. Children are encouraged to solve problems outdoors. They find ways to attach guttering together, so balls and toy cars can roll down them. Children explore and investigate when they play with ice. They take it in turns to use hammers to smash the ice to release toys that are frozen inside. They pour warm water on the ice and learn that it will melt and turn into a liquid.

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

• Staff support children's communication and language skills well. For example, they ask them a good range of questions to encourage their thinking skills. Staff introduce new words for children to learn, such as guava. Children repeat the word and learn that it is a fruit.
• Staff know the children well. They provide them with opportunities to have fun and to be physically active. Children squeal with excitement when they use equipment to make bubbles. They chase the bubbles and pop them.
• Parents say that staff are friendly and comment that their children have grown in confidence since attending. They appreciate the guidance they receive from staff to help their children's progress, such as to promote their independence at home. This helps to provide a united approach to supporting children's development.
• Staff plan opportunities to help children to develop their understanding of rhyming words. For example, children are asked to find objects that begin with the same sounds, such as a toy cat and a hat. However, occasionally during planned activities, staff do not encourage the quieter children to take part in discussions.
• Staff gather information from parents about children's abilities when they first start attending. They use this information, along with their observations and assessments, to help identify what children need to learn next. Children make good progress in their development.
• Children learn skills that will help them in preparation for their move on to school. For instance, they sit well and listen when staff read them stories. Staff use different tones in their voice to capture children's interests and to help them to focus.
• The manager reflects on the experiences children receive. Recent changes increase opportunities for children to develop their imaginative play. From children's interests in pretending to make ice creams, staff make the play house into a pretend ice-cream parlour. Children give staff pretend ice creams and say they are five pounds.
• The manager spends additional funding effectively to meet the needs of individual children and their interests. For example, she arranges for different animals to be brought into the nursery, where children have opportunities to pet them. Money is also spent to ensure that children receive daily fruit to promote healthy eating.
• Staff provide children with healthy foods and drinks. They help children to understand where food comes from. For example, they learn that milk comes from cows and eggs come from chickens. However, staff do not fully help children to understand the benefits of healthy foods and drinks on their bodies.
• Children receive plenty of praise and encouragement from staff to help raise their self-esteem. For instance, staff reward children with stickers to acknowledge their achievements, such as when they say new words.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to encourage quieter children to take part in discussions during group times
• strengthen staff's knowledge of how to support children to understand the benefits of healthy foods and drinks on their bodies.