The Cromwell Road Day Nursery and Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children throughout the nursery benefit from the warm, caring interaction of staff. Children of all ages learn the social skills they need to prepare them for their future lives as learners, friends and neighbours. Staff provide positive and consistent support for children to understand how to share, take turns and to wait patiently when needed. Children relish in the praise they receive for acts of kindness. Those who are reluctant to join in tasks, such as tidying away toys, are easily persuaded as they are eager to help staff.

All children progress well as they take part in experiences that they enjoy. For example, younger children have great fun playing with musical instruments. Staff recognise and support the learning that takes place as children develop coordination and express themselves through using shakers and banging drums. Older children are highly animated as they recall facts they have learned, for example, about the diets of bats.

The thoughtful organisation of the outdoor play space successfully promotes children's physical development. There is apparatus to enable children of all ages and abilities to test and extend their climbing capacities. Staff also make good use of this space to focus on supporting children's knowledge of the natural world.

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

• The management of the nursery is strong. Regular team meetings and one-to-one supervisions support staff and keep their knowledge up to date. Changes within the staffing arrangements are managed effectively. For example, staff provide detailed information about children to colleagues when it is necessary to change key-person arrangements.
• Managers and staff place a strong focus on meeting the unique needs of each child. This is particularly evident in the attention paid to ensuring that children's medical and dietary needs are understood and catered for.
• Staff support children to make good progress, although the planning and implementation of some activities is more effective than others. The early years curriculum is tailored to reflect children's interests. However, although staff have a clear overall aim for each activity, their planning is not always as precise as possible. For example, staff do not consider the specific language, ideas or skills they want to share to extend children's learning. In addition, they do not always consider the number of children taking part. There are times when the popularity of adult-led activities impacts on how successfully these are delivered.
• Staff create an environment that is rich in spoken language. Older children become very confident talkers, using a broad vocabulary to share stories, ask questions and discuss what they have learnt. In addition, staff skilfully use sign language and visual prompts to help children understand what is happening, and what will happen next.
• Staff help children of all ages to develop a love of books. Children listen to stories with great concentration. The cosy areas in each room are extremely well used as children frequently choose books to look at, alone or with a friend.
• Children develop their understanding of the world as they take part in first-hand experiences, such as growing plants, caring for fish and rearing chicks. Staff organise outings and experiences to help children learn about the lives of others in their local community and wider world. Staff plan activities that reflect children's languages and cultures. There are dual-language books and parents are invited in to read stories in their home language.
• Staff have a good understanding of what children like to play with, and popular items are made available regularly. For example, those working with the babies ensure that musical instruments are set out more than once a day. However, the frequent changing of accessible toys limits children's opportunities to explore freely and independently. This is most evident for the younger children whose access to equipment for drawing and making marks, for example, is limited.
• Parents' feedback about the staff and the progress their children make is positive. Staff engage with teachers at local schools to make the transition for each child as easy as possible. There are appropriate arrangements to work with other relevant professionals to identify and meet the needs of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to refine their planning to more precisely consider the learning intent and how best to implement adult-led activities to maximise the learning of those taking part
• review and improve the organisation and accessibility of activities throughout the nursery to increase the opportunities for children to explore and develop the skills to become independent learners.