The Cabin At Tamar View

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enter the nursery with enthusiasm and merrily greet staff members, who welcome them with a friendly cheer. Staff ensure a thorough handover, gaining any relevant information from parents to ensure that children have a positive day. Children talk to staff about their experiences, and adults listen and respond warmly. Children have formed strong relationships with staff and feel happy and safe in their company.

The nursery plans an effective curriculum, and staff implement this well. Staff encourage children to be independent learners and to work collaboratively as a team. Children take turns to be the 'special helper' of the day. They ring a metal handbell and tell their peers it is tidy-up time. Staff and children sing a relevant song together, providing excitement while children put all the toys away. Children follow the rules and boundaries well. They have a good understanding of daily routines, such as gathering on the carpet for group time once they have finished tidying.

Staff develop children's communication skills effectively. They teach children how to use sign language and show them real items to help support their understanding. Children confidently use actions while they say a poem about the season. They sign 'spring', 'warm' and 'cold' while they recite the words.

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

• Staff implement a 'staggered lunch', meaning younger children eat before their older peers to help meet their needs. Staff sit with them as role models, encouraging children to be independent. For example, staff show them the 'pinch and pull' method when opening food packaging to support their hand-eye coordination. Children persevere at this until they succeed and beam with pride at their achievement.
• Children enjoy pretending to be superheroes. They climb the small 'hill' in the garden and jump off. Children mark on the ground where they land, comparing who went the furthest. Staff encourage children to count backwards before jumping off again to encourage mathematical development. Children try to land further than their last attempt and cheer one another on.
• Leaders are highly supportive to staff. Staff report that they receive effective coaching and mentoring to improve practice. They receive praise and recognition for their successes, displaying their achievements on the designated board. Staff morale is high.
• Children enjoy stories and recall what they have heard. Children impressively name dinosaurs from books, such as 'pterodactyl', 'stegosaurus' and 'brontosaurus'. They talk about the role of a dung beetle and enjoy watching staff bringing stories to life using puppets. However, staff implement large group times for too long, meaning some children lose interest and do not maintain their attention.
• Staff help children to learn about 'people who help us', such as paramedics. They giggle with laughter as they wrap up teddies and one another in bandages and cover their friends with tissue paper. Children say, 'You're all better now.' Staff talk to them about the role of ambulance crew and their importance in society.
• Partnerships with parents are highly effective. The nursery provides families with the utmost support to ensure that they are happy, healthy and safe. Leaders signpost parents to other professionals to ensure that they can access additional services where needed. Children enjoy taking books home to share to support their early reading skills. They also enjoy taking home 'Super Ted' the teddy bear over the weekend. Upon their return to nursery, children enjoy talking to their peers about the adventures they have been on with the travelling bear.
• Leaders and staff take children on regular outings in the community. For example, they go to the visitor's centre at the toll bridge. They learn about how the bridge was made and then recreate this with guttering over the water tray when back at the nursery. Children develop their understanding of the local area.
• Staff welcome all families and are highly inclusive. They learn about festivals relevant to children's own cultures and home languages, such as the Maslenitsa festival and American Independence Day. Children learn about life in modern Britain.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• adapt large group times to ensure that children remain consistently engaged to maximise learning.