The Lighthouse Day Care Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff create a well-resourced and thoughtfully organised environment where children feel safe and secure. Children settle quickly, show happiness and confidence, and build warm, caring relationships with staff, who know them extremely well. Staff engage positively throughout the day, helping children feel valued and supported.

Staff provide a broad range of experiences that spark curiosity. They place a strong emphasis on learning through core songs and books across the nursery. In the 'Cubs' room, staff weave music and stories into daily routines as babies sing, share books and explore instruments. In the 'Tigers' room, children thrive indoors and outdoors, showing excitement as they dig in the mud kitchen, pour water and experiment with sand. Playschool children grow in confidence and independence as they manage toileting, serve snacks and explore construction, drawing and small-world play. In pre-school, children extend their creativity through art, craft and water play, while developing communication and language skills that prepare them well for the next stage of learning.

Children celebrate their achievements proudly and share success with friends. They cooperate well, follow the nursery's 'golden rules' and respond positively to staff's expectations. Staff manage behaviour calmly and consistently, which helps children feel secure in daily routines.

Staff assess progress carefully, plan next steps and provide tailored support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) through targeted plans led by designated leaders. Parents praise the nursery's 'homely feel', effective communication and the good progress their children make. Staff manage care routines flexibly, and children benefit from nutritious, home-cooked meals.

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

• Staff create a calm and nurturing environment where they build secure, trusting relationships with children. Babies follow familiar routines that help them feel safe, such as washing hands before snack and snuggling with staff to share books and songs.
• As children move through the nursery, they gain confidence and independence. Older children take responsibility for small tasks. Playschool children proudly serve their own food, spreading hummus on crackers, and manage toileting independently.
• Staff promote positive behaviour and set high expectations. Children follow the nursery's 'golden rules' and show kindness, cooperation and respect for each other. Staff respond calmly and consistently to minor disagreements, helping children regulate their emotions and learn to solve problems.
• Staff design a broad and well-thought-out curriculum. They use core books, songs and rhymes across the nursery to provide consistency and spark a love of language. They skilfully model new vocabulary and encourage children to talk, listen and take turns in conversations.
• Children benefit from a wide range of physical and creative activities indoors and outdoors. Pre-school children also take part in structured group work that supports listening and attention skills, helping to prepare them for school. However, staff do not consistently adapt large-group activities to meet all children's needs, which means some lose focus and that their learning is not extended.
• Staff know children well. They use the new planning system well, overall, to observe learning and identify next steps. They adapt activities to children's interests and abilities, which supports progress across the curriculum. Staff provide targeted support for children with SEND. Leaders implement individualised plans effectively and work with staff, parents and external agencies to ensure that children access the help they need.
• Leaders show ambition and passion for the nursery's development. They have introduced positive changes, such as new planning and monitoring systems, which are beginning to improve practice. Staff speak positively about their roles and feel supported.
• Parents praise the nursery. They value the homely feel, the nutritious home-cooked meals and the good progress their children make, particularly in communication and language.
• Leaders monitor practice, but not all systems are fully embedded. Some staff remain unsure about the new planning approach, which reduces opportunities to share good practice and deliver consistently high-quality teaching. Leaders have begun to strengthen monitoring, training and communication, but these actions are not yet fully established.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• embed the new planning approach so whole-group activities are consistently designed and delivered to motivate children and extend their learning
• strengthen consistency in teaching across the provision, enabling the sharing of excellent practice and raising quality even further.