The Rochford Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children benefit from the positive changes made by leaders and managers since the last inspection. The consistent staff team gets to know the children well. This helps children to form meaningful bonds with their key person and other staff members. As a result, children feel safe and secure in the welcoming nursery environment.

Babies enjoy moving around the indoor play equipment, and this helps to strengthen their muscles. The oldest children confidently demonstrate their physical skills as they play in the inviting garden area. They build obstacle courses using planks. Staff initially guide them, and children then go on to complete the task independently once they understand how to connect the pieces safely. Children demonstrate their enjoyment and pride at completing the course, jumping off at the end before starting the course again.

Children develop their patience and concentration at the nursery. Toddlers sit and follow staff instructions during focused activities. They demonstrate their emerging self-control as they wait with anticipation for a toy frog to jump, laughing with delight when it happens. They quickly settle down when staff remind them of their expectations, which helps children to refocus on the activity that is taking place.

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

• Leaders and managers have worked hard to make improvements since the last inspection. Staff feel valued and involved in the nursery. They have undertaken training, including paediatric first aid, and managers have completed supervision meetings with the staff team. Managers regularly observe staff interacting with children and provide them with feedback to help them improve their teaching.
• All staff know the children they care for. When the nursery requires agency staff, they work in familiar rooms where possible to help provide the children with consistency. Information is readily available in the rooms for all staff to access to support children who have specific needs. Parents are happy with the care on offer and speak positively about the staff. This supports a two-way flow of information between the nursery and home.
• Children develop a good understanding about the importance of being healthy. Pre-school children complete activities about dental hygiene. They follow instructions and learn how to keep their teeth clean. Staff plan these activities as they are relevant to children's own experiences. For instance, children go to visit the dentist for the first time. Staff recognise the importance of children becoming independent in personal care tasks. For example, they encourage children to get their own tissues when they need to blow their noses.
• Staff provide children with an inclusive environment. For instance, they encourage children who are learning to interact with their peers to sit with others when eating their meals. Staff have appropriate strategies in place to support children's individual needs. They share these strategies with parents so that children can receive consistent messages. Staff work in partnership with other professionals to support children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. This enables all children to make good progress in their learning and development.
• Overall, children behave well, and staff support children's behaviour effectively. For instance, they remind children of the rules throughout the day using visual cue cards for support. However, sometimes, some older children do not have the opportunity to share their ideas or thoughts successfully. For instance, occasionally, children continue to speak over one another, or staff do not allow them enough time to respond. This leads to children not being able to make the most of the learning opportunities on offer.
• Staff speak to children continuously throughout the nursery. Older children successfully use new vocabulary that is relevant to the topics they are learning about. Staff give the youngest children a commentary as they play. However, occasionally, staff do not provide appropriate support to develop the communication skills of babies and younger children. For instance, staff ask babies to repeat words back to them when the babies are still non-verbal or only just babbling.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• provide older children with consistent opportunities to share their own thoughts and ideas with others around them
• continue to build on younger children's language and communication development appropriately to help them become even more effective communicators.