The Redbrick Day Nursery - Kingswell Road

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy when they arrive at nursery. Staff greet children with a smile and welcome them inside. Children show that they have a sense of belonging. This promotes their positive well-being. Staff caring for babies are gentle and attentive. They give cuddles and reassurance when babies are upset, which helps them to return to their play when they are ready.

The nursery curriculum is ambitious for all children, including those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff deliver the curriculum well. They adapt it so every child can build on the skills and confidence they have already. Staff invite children to explore and challenge themselves. This is seen when staff support children with their physical skills. Children take staff's hand to steady themselves as they step over soft and bumpy surfaces. As children's independence grows, they explore how to move their bodies in new ways as they clamber over the same surface on their hands and knees.

Staff are positive and encouraging in their approach and spend lots of time playing alongside children. They offer a wide range of experiences that children are curious about and motivated to explore. This contributes to children following their own ideas as they play. Children spend lengthy amounts of time focused and concentrating on their chosen activity. They behave well and copy staff when they model how to play cooperatively together.

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

• Leaders have a clear vision for the nursery. They support staff effectively through observations and discussions about staffs' practice. Overall, the reflective approach results in staff learning from one another and identifying their priorities for their continued professional development. However, this is not fully embedded to consistently improve the delivery of the curriculum. Sometimes, when staff interact with children during activities, they do not extend children's knowledge and thinking. That said, leaders do all they can to ensure the nursery is inclusive. All children receive appropriate care and assistance to meet their needs and help them make progress in their learning.
• Staff help all children, including those who speak English as an additional language, to develop their communication and speaking skills. They encourage babies to babble and repeat the sounds they make back to them. Staff engage pre-school children in conversations about caterpillars, butterflies and ladybirds during a craft activity. Staff listen to children and give them praise when they recognise and identify their favourite sea creatures, such as shark and dolphin.
• Staff know the children well and give them support and encouragement as they play. They know where children are in their learning and use their interests to plan activities. When babies show an interest in balls, staff initiate games with them, such as rolling a ball back and forth and saying, 'Ready, steady go!' Babies giggle with delight and learn to share and build relationships with their peers.
• Staff have a consistent approach to their high expectations for behaviour in the nursery. Staff are good role models for children. They comment when children are kind and help their friends. Staff remain calm and speak clearly to children, so they know what is expected of them. Children are busy and interested in their chosen activities. They work well together and cooperate as they play.
• Staff value each child as an individual. They talk to children about diversity and how everyone is different. Staff consistently promote the nursery expectations to be kind and respectful to others. Through stories and discussion with staff, children learn how to recognise and begin to manage their emotions. For example, during group times children talk together about feelings, such as being confident and nervous.
• Staff work closely with all parents. They welcome information from parents about their children with SEND and take account of this, as well as guidance from other professionals who are involved with the children. This collaborative approach helps staff be confident to understand and meet children's specific needs. Staff provide all parents with personalised feedback each day about what their children have enjoyed and their care routines. The setting uses an app to keep parents up-to-date with their child's progress. This includes information about the activities they provide and what they want children to learn.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen staff's skills and interactions to consistently support and extend children's thinking and learning as they play.