Sweetcroft Day Care

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff create an environment that helps children to feel secure and safe. Younger children become familiar with the areas of the room that they will use as they progress through the nursery. As children transition from the toddler room to the pre-school room, they know what to expect from the familiar routine. Children are happy and confident as they explore and play.

Staff create activities that children find interesting. Children are curious as they explore what happens as they pour water down a water wall using jugs and funnels. Staff develop children's physical skills. For example, children reach up high to pour water, mould play dough using a variety of tools and play on wheeled toys in the garden. Staff encourage children to have a go and experience setbacks in their play. Children persevere and build their resilience and self-esteem.

Staff share their expectations of children's behaviour in a way that they understand. Children know which areas of the nursery belong to them and how to use them safely. Staff promote a culture of kindness among children. They teach children to share and take turns. When children struggle to listen to each other, staff step in and support them to cooperate with one another. Children understand the impact their actions have on others. They behave well.

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

• Managers and staff create a curriculum with a clear learning intent. They aim to support children to become confident, happy and independent. This vision is clearly shared with all staff. Staff create learning opportunities for children that help them to reach their developmental milestones.
• Managers and staff understand that some children will need additional support with their learning. They work with external experts to help to plan exciting learning opportunities for children. Staff know how to support children to be independent learners who do things for themselves. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities reach their milestones.
• Staff find out what children know and can do. They work together as a team to support individual children to build on their prior knowledge and skills. Children develop their knowledge and skills across the breadth of the early years curriculum. They are well prepared for the next stage of their education.
• Staff plan activities that children find interesting. However, on occasions, managers do not focus peer-to-peer observations to support staff's understanding of how to support older children's learning. At times, older children do not have access to the most ambitious learning opportunities within focused activities.
• Staff are skilled at supporting children's mathematical development. Across the nursery, children of all ages count objects. Staff extend children's understanding of concepts by asking them to solve problems by taking away and adding different amounts. Children are well prepared for the next stage of their education.
• Care practices are effective. Babies sleep in the calm environment of the cabin, and wake to cuddles and reassurance from friendly staff. Staff create individual care plans for babies, including planning sensory food activities that cater for their dietary requirements. Babies are able to explore safely as they gain independence.
• Staff understand how to support children to develop their communication and language skills. However, on occasions, managers do not always deploy staff effectively to support all children to have the most ambitious opportunities to interact with staff. Across the nursery, children do not always benefit from the most challenging opportunities to develop their fluency.
• Parents are happy that their children make progress with their learning. They report that their children become increasingly confident at the nursery and make friends. Parents say that the information they receive about their child's learning is personalised. They comment this helps them to understand how to continue their children's learning at home.
• The manager is reflective of her practice. She regularly arranges professional development opportunities with all staff. This helps staff's understanding of child development to continue to improve over time.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop support for staff to help them to plan activities that are ambitious for all children
• strengthen the deployment of staff to give all children access to the most ambitious opportunities to learn new language.