The Green Day Nursery (Kings Norton) Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are greeted with a warm welcome as they enter this nurturing nursery. Leaders and staff get to know children and families, which establishes strong bonds. Subsequently, children settle in well. Children show they feel safe and secure. For example, they choose where they want to play and freely move around the environment. Children are well settled and thrive with the care and support given by the caring staff.

The natural world plays a huge part in planning opportunities for children's learning. For example, children grow their own herbs in the garden. Staff select natural resources and materials to develop children's curiosity in play. Staff's interactions are warm and caring. Children enjoy mixing paints to make the colour grey and are surprised when they say the white has gone. This links to what children need to learn next and helps their colour recognition.

Children behave extremely well and learn about caring for others and the setting's pets. For example, they race into the nursery, excited to see the recently hatched chicks. Furthermore, children are gentle when they handle stick insects. Children giggle in delight as they watch them crawl up their arms. This supports children's understanding of caring for living things.

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

• Leaders have designed a well-sequenced curriculum across the nursery. They are clear about what they want children to learn. This is, on the whole, implemented successfully. However, some staff are not always clear about how children learn and develop when planning for activities. This means that children's learning is not extended to the highest level.
• Supervision of staff takes place regularly. Staff act on the support they receive. However, leaders do not monitor staff practice closely to ensure they implement the curriculum effectively.
• Staff promote communication and language well. They talk to children about holidays and use what children already know to further build on their vocabulary. For example, they ask children to think about what they will need at the beach and say it is called paddling when you put your feet in the sea.
• Children develop close bonds with staff through reading stories. They talk about the farm animals in the book. When children notice a hen in the book, staff remind them of the hens they have in their nursery garden. This helps children to make immediate links with what they already know. In addition, children are excited to use their whole bodies to move like different farm animals.
• Children develop their independence. They make choices about where they would like to sit at the snack table. They use a knife to butter their own toast and pour their own drinks from a small jug. Furthermore, staff take opportunities to teach children about numbers in everyday routines by counting the number of apples on their plates. This ensures that children make progress in their mathematical development.
• Children develop their fine motor skills. Staff know children are interested in superheroes so they put out opportunities for children to make masks. Children select the materials they wish to use, including scissors to cut around their masks. Staff model how to hold the scissors safely as they notice children walking around the table. This helps children to handle resources safely.
• Parents report that the nursery makes them and their children feel safe and welcome because it gives them a home-from-home feeling. They talk fondly about the online app and say how they find this useful to communicate with the nursery. This ensures continuity of learning for children as parents are able to extend their learning at home.
• The experienced special educational needs coordinator works closely with parents and outside agencies to get the right support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. For example, when children's development causes concern, staff act on this swiftly. Furthermore, staff provide additional written daily diaries for parents to read about their children's day. This helps to meet the individual needs of children.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance the coaching and mentoring of staff to build on their knowledge of how children learn and develop
• strengthen the procedure for supervision to further develop monitoring of staff closely, so they understand the curriculum.