The Red Brick Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy to arrive at nursery and are eager to greet staff. Children who are new to the nursery are gently reassured and supported by attentive staff. This helps children to become familiar with the environment and new routines. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, have access to a well-balanced and stimulating curriculum. Staff know children well and so provide activities that engage children and help them to make good progress in all areas of learning. Children delight in playing outside. They gain the most from their outdoor experiences as staff playfully join in their games. Children make positive choices about their play as staff skilfully direct them and ask purposeful questions to encourage curiosity and problem-solving.

Children play cooperatively with their friends and learn to take turns with the resources. They confidently communicate their needs and show awareness of their changing emotions. For example, when comparing the different expressions on a toy monster, children identify the one that reflects how they are feeling that day and exclaim, 'This is me. I feel happy.' Children demonstrate good levels of confidence and positive self-esteem as staff give them lots of praise and encourage their efforts.

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

• Staff give high regard to promoting children's physical development. Babies have ample space to learn to crawl, and staff encourage them to move and reach for inviting resources. Toddlers have immense fun practising and developing movements such as climbing and jumping. Older children learn how to coordinate their movements and use equipment safely. For example, they use scissors with increasing control to cut out shapes and confidently use brushes, pencils and chalks to draw and write.
• Staff gather detailed information from parents when children first enter nursery to help them to understand each child's interests, home background and starting points. This enables them to plan an effective curriculum that is relevant, sequenced and clearly identifies next steps for learning.
• Staff engage enthusiastically with children, asking questions and initiating conversation to support language development. Children delight in singing activities and gleefully clap their hands. Younger children enjoy looking at books with an adult, and in pre-school, children talk with interest about things they have discovered from books. For example, they locate a book about volcanoes and proudly recall facts they have learned about lava.
• Parents speak highly of the nursery and value how well staff know children. Parents comment that they receive regular updates about children's progress and staff guide them well to support children's learning at home. Parents regularly use online communication systems to share information with staff. They receive information about daily activities and care routines, which they say is helpful and reassuring.
• The management team is committed to ensuring that all children reach their potential and receive good-quality care and education. Managers accurately identify areas for further development and fully involve staff in planning how the provision can be enhanced. Staff are well supported and undertake regular training to further develop their knowledge and skills. However, occasionally, staff do not use teaching strategies that fully support children's early writing skills.
• Staff promote children's social skills well. At mealtimes, they sit with children, encouraging them to share their news and talk about healthy foods. Children enjoy nutritious snacks and meals and quickly grasp how to use cutlery independently. Staff carefully model skills to children, showing older children how to use knives safely to cut up their food.
• Staff provide good support overall for children who speak English as an additional language. They display photos and visual timetables to help children to understand what activities they will be doing that day. In the Playzone room, staff focus on key vocabulary to help children to learn new words. However, they do not always fully consider the best way to help children to grasp unfamiliar words. At times, this leads to children disengaging with a conversation, as they have not fully understood the meaning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• monitor the teaching of early writing in pre-school to support staff in planning activities that are appropriate for the ages and stages of development of children
• deepen staff's understanding of how to fully support the language and communication development of young children who are learning to speak English as an additional language.