The Close Day Nursery School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff know children well and demonstrate a wealth of knowledge about them and their progress. Generally, staff know what children need to learn next and build on their prior learning experiences successfully. Themes, such as learning about the life cycles of frogs, help to excite and fascinate children. Staff use technology effectively to bring this to life for older children. Staff have ongoing conversations and use commentary as they play with children. This ensures that children hear rich, descriptive language as they play. Staff use some sign language with babies to help them to express themselves, and they support children who learn English as an additional language well. This encourages all children to become confident and capable communicators. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities make good progress because staff quickly identify any gaps in children's development and take action to provide targeted support. Staff work effectively with parents and exchange information readily to provide continuity in children's learning and development.

Children's behaviour is excellent. They show maturity and emotional regulation as they negotiate to find solutions to their minor disagreements. Staff support children to take turns and share, for example, when playing games together such as skittles.

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

• Children display high levels of engagement and interest in activities. This is especially evident when they play outdoors. Children have vivid imaginations and act out what they understand about the world in their role play. For example, when playing in the mud kitchen, children pretend to make pancakes and say they are police and hairdressers. They encourage adults to join in with their play, explaining their ideas and showing confidence in what they know.
• Although children enjoy their learning, staff support them well and they make good progress, the curriculum intent lacks cohesion and clarity. There is sometimes too much of a focus on activities rather than what children will be learning. This can lead to staff providing children with tasks to complete, rather than opportunities for learning.
• The vast amount of paperwork that staff generate, including tracking, planning and assessments, does not add value to their good practice. They have a genuine depth of knowledge of the children that they care for. All staff recognise and can confidently discuss children's progress, meaning their time taken completing written records is unnecessary. Furthermore, it means, occasionally, staff are unclear on children's next steps in learning, because the recorded information encourages their focus on activities rather than what children need to learn.
• Children have rich opportunities to explore mathematics. They play counting games and learn about simple addition and subtraction. Older children count on their fingers and use their understanding to make tally charts during competitive games to work out who is winning.
• Staff encourage babies to practise using the small muscles in their hands. They guide babies to carefully pour themselves a cup of milk and provide them with activities for tipping and pouring materials into bottles. Occasionally, some activity arrangements, such as those taking place within a pop-up playpen, limit babies' experiences. This is because babies cannot be fully physically active and the pen limits their ability to explore the area and make independent choices.
• Key person relationships are strong, and children form close attachments with the staff who care for them. Children are settled and secure and show that they are confident at the nursery. They show positive attitudes, curiosity and interest as they busily play and learn.
• Mealtimes are well organised, and staff supervise children closely when they eat to keep them safe. However, they do not always talk to children about healthy diets, and some of children's lunches are high in salt and sugar. This is contrary to the nursery's initiatives to encourage children's awareness of healthy eating.
• Staff develop productive and professional relationships with parents, who are overwhelmingly positive about the care and education that their children receive. The team of staff work extremely well together. Many staff have been in post for several years and are highly committed to the job that they love. Their enthusiasm and dedication to their work helps to create a happy and stable atmosphere for children.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop a clearer and more easily understood curriculum intent so that staff follow a singular, cohesive approach to supporting children's learning and unnecessary paperwork is reduced, meaning staff can focus on their good ability to support children's learning and development
• provide consistently challenging and exciting opportunities for babies to explore freely using their increasing physical skills
• give children clear and consistent messages about healthy food choices.