Teddies Tots

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and relaxed in the calming environment staff provide. Staff welcome children and make sure they share essential information with parents. This contributes significantly to the high quality of care children receive. Children develop warm relationships with all staff and feel comfortable, confident and valued. Children behave well, and staff support them to manage their own feelings and emotions. The nursery cook provides children with healthy meals and snacks. Fresh drinking water is easily accessible. Staff ensure that children's dietary requirements and allergies are fully catered for, and information is displayed for staff to see. Staff support children's oral health well. Staff talk to the children about looking after their teeth and provide activities to promote teeth cleaning.

Children behave well. Strong routines support their positive behaviour. Children listen to staff and follow instructions without hesitation. They are kind to their friends and enjoy playing in collaboration with each other. Children make good progress and enjoy an ambitious curriculum of well-planned activities based on their learning needs and interests. Staff sequence activities well, ensuring that they build on what children already know. For example, the children enjoy mixing colours in a paint activity.

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

• Children arrive at the nursery enthusiastic and eager to learn. They greet each other in the morning with the 'Hello' song and have the opportunity to share their news at registration. These sensitive and gentle interactions help children to feel safe and secure.
• Equality and diversity are well promoted. Staff teach children about festivals from different cultures, such as Chinese New Year and Diwali. They use books to open discussions about different types of families. Staff encourage children to treat everybody equally, valuing and respecting each other's differences.
• The setting promotes a healthy eating policy. Fresh fruit is provided daily for children to enjoy, as well as milk and water. Staff work in partnership with parents to ensure children who are staying all day have a hot meal provided by the nursery. Children enjoy daily opportunities to play outside in the outdoor play area. This promotes the children's developing physical skills.
• Staff complete regular written progress checks for all children and share them with parents.
• The manager and staff have a good understanding of each child, their families and their needs. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), make good progress from their starting points in learning. They enjoy their time in this engaging, child-centred and language-rich environment. Children with SEND receive good support. The special educational needs coordinator and key person work closely with parents and other professionals.
• The nursery focuses on keeping children safe and healthy by providing nutritious meals and encouraging good hygiene, such as handwashing and tooth brushing. They discuss the reasons why these are necessary with children. The children learn why these things are important for their future well-being.
• Staff use appropriate questioning techniques to support children's learning. They know the children well and build on what they know and can do. However, occasionally, children are not given enough time to think and respond for themselves.
• Parents are very happy with the care the nursery provides. They value the communication they receive through an online system. Staff send home ideas for parents on how to support children's learning at home.
• Staff communicate well as a team. They reflect on, review and plan activities around children's interests and abilities. However, sometimes, the organisation of activities and group sizes means children with communication and language needs are not fully supported, particularly children who speak English as an additional language.
• Management has ambitious plans for the future. Managers continually reflect on what they do and how they can improve with the whole nursery team. Managers have a clear understanding of what they want to improve at the nursery. Staff feel well supported in their professional development. Effective appraisals and supervision meetings identify areas for development and opportunities for training.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• give children time to respond to questions and to think for themselves, to extend their critical-thinking skills
• review the organisation of small-group sessions to fully support children's communication and language skills.