The Jack And Jill Day Nursery Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy, engaged and have lots of fun in this busy and lively nursery. Staff greet them, and their parents, warmly as they arrive and welcome them into their base rooms. Staff develop nurturing bonds with children, who feel secure enough to seek staff out for comfort and reassurance. This helps children to develop a strong sense of belonging and, in turn, to feel safe and secure.

Staff provide children with a range of fun and interesting activities. For example, babies learn to scoop and pour porridge into containers, and toddlers pretend to feed toy animals with puffed rice. Pre-school children work out how to use equipment to create their own obstacle course. Children show a genuine interest in learning and staff support this well overall. Staff spend time with children during activities, using a range of language and engaging them in conversations to help extend their speaking skills and understanding. They introduce children to new words, such as 'sprinkle', 'massive' and 'huge', when describing aspects of their play.

Children behave well, and staff have high expectations of them. Praise is used to help children develop confidence and self-esteem, as well as helping them to identify when behaviour is positive. Children are encouraged by staff to share and take turns during their play. When they struggle with this, staff model what to do, helping children to learn how to wait and be patient.

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

• Support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities is highly effective. The manager and staff get to know these children well, working closely with their parents and outside agencies to be sure their needs are well met in the setting. A separate unit is offered to children diagnosed with, or in the process of being diagnosed with, autism. Staff are excellent at supporting the children to develop at their own pace and tailor play well to support their individual needs. Children show excitement and joy as they make marks on paper and explore how paint feels on their hands and face. They are nurtured well and show they feel safe and happy.
• Staff help children to develop good physical skills as they plan interesting activities, both inside and outside. Babies are able to cruise around well-placed furniture and have regular opportunities to build on their skills, such as when staff encourage them to climb on small steps in the outside area. Staff plan running games in the garden for toddlers. Children show they understand what is asked of them as they demonstrate how to stop and go when asked by staff. Older children are taught how to use scissors safely and show good small-muscle skills as they cut up materials and use different-sized paintbrushes to create patterns. They enjoy pushing each other around on the bicycles, skilfully manoeuvring in and around obstacles.
• Partnership with parents and carers is a real strength of this setting. Parents speak highly of the manager and staff. They comment on the 'caring and nurturing staff' and that their child's needs are 'known and met'. They comment on how staff help them to support their child at home and guide them to seek appropriate intervention for children when this is needed. All parents say they are listened to and helped to contribute to their child's development.
• The manager and staff offer children a well-thought-out curriculum to support children's learning. Overall, most staff plan activities based on what children know and can do, along with what children are interested in, to help children make the best progress from their starting points. However, some staff do not consider how to challenge children more to enhance their learning. When asked how they can enhance children's learning during an activity, some staff are unsure how to do this. This means that children are not always helped to make the rapid progress of which they are capable.
• In the main, staff support children to develop good independence. They encourage children to put on their own coats and shoes for outdoor play, and older children have opportunities to pour their own drinks at snack time. However, staff practice is inconsistent, particularly during mealtimes. For example, before allowing children to cut up their own food, staff do this for them. Therefore, there are times when children have limited opportunities to do things for themselves, as staff are too quick to intervene.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• improve staff teaching practice so that they understand how to extend activities for all children
• enhance opportunities for children to develop independence skills through existing routines.