The Co-operative Childcare Body Shop

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are warmly welcomed by staff as they arrive ready to start their day. Overall, staff deliver a broad and balanced curriculum. Staff want all children to achieve well. They plan stimulating activities that supports children's individual learning, incorporating their own interests and in-the-moment curiosities. As such, children are quick to immerse themselves in activities and play experiences of their choice. This supports children to be motivated in their learning.

The manager, alongside her staff team, has worked tirelessly to make the necessary improvements since the last inspection. Staff are given the coaching and support needed to ensure they implement effective and consistent strategies to support children's behaviour. Some staff have access to additional, targeted training to understand how to implement these strategies successfully. This is cascaded to other staff to ensure a consistent approach is applied. This helps children to understand behavioural expectations and begin to learn about their own emotions.

Staff recognise the importance of children's emotional well-being. They work hard to develop secure bonds with children, including those who have recently started at the nursery. In turn, children confidently seek out staff for play, praise and reassurance when needed. Staff are respectful of children. For instance, they ask children if it is ok to change their nappies and gently support younger children to wipe their own noses. This helps children to feel valued, as well as gain early self-care skills.

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

• Overall, staff plan and provide meaningful, and appropriately challenging learning experiences for children. The broad curriculum on offer provides children opportunities to practise and develop their skills in all seven areas of learning. Staff know the children well and precisely plan for children's individual next steps. They know what skills children have already learned, and what they want to teach them next and why. However, on occasions quieter children and those less able than others, are not fully engaged in the learning experiences on offer. This does not always fully support these children to make the good progress they are capable of.
• Generally, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) have their needs met very well. The manager, alongside the special educational needs coordinator (SENCo), has good knowledge of local referral processes, and ensures children get timely support when needed. Staff work closely with a range of external professionals, alongside parents, recognising the importance of partnership working. The SENCo works with key persons to develop children's individual education plans. These incorporate strategies from other professionals and identify children's personalised goals. However, these strategies are not always used by the staff. For instance, when a child's key person is not there, a secondary key person system is in place. However, the buddy key person does not consistently implement the strategies for children with SEND. Consequently, this does not fully support their learning needs. Nevertheless, the manager and SENCo are taking steps to strengthen this.
• Staff teach children how to keep themselves safe. They give gentle reminders and clear explanation as to why they ask children not to do something. Children listen and respond well. Staff place significant emphasis on other aspects of practice, including supporting children to learn about healthy lifestyles. However, they do not plan regular opportunities to help children learn about online safety. This does not fully support their understanding of how to keep themselves safe when accessing the internet. Despite this, children demonstrate positive attitudes to their own health and well-being.
• Staff have high expectations of children's behaviour. They role model these expectations positively. They apply a calm and consistent approach when supporting children to understand right and wrong. Staff give additional support to children who, at times struggle to understand their own emotions. This supports children's personal, social and emotional development well.
• Communication and language are a fundamental part of the curriculum. Children benefit from high-quality interactions. For instance, staff encourage babies to make early sounds. They mimic back and forth communication with babies as they expressively babble and begin to say their first words. Staff expose children to new words that help to build on their range of vocabulary. For example, during group story time sessions, pre-school children learn words such as 'author' and 'illustrator'. Staff take time to teach children what new words mean in the contexts of the activity. This helps children to make connections in their learning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen the curriculum so it consistently meets the needs of all children, ensuring learning is equally as purposeful, particularly for those that are quieter and less able
• strengthen key person arrangements to ensure children with SEND receive consistent support in their learning
• enhance the curriculum to provide opportunities to support children's understanding of how to keep themselves safe online.