The Squirrels Childcare Centre Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and feel safe and secure at the bright and busy nursery. Babies benefit from nurturing and warm relationships with their key staff. Children form strong attachments with staff, boosting their confidence and self-esteem. Staff are good role models and children understand their expectations. Children learn about daily routines and develop key life skills through daily activities such as mealtimes. Staff have high aspirations for all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff's dedication to supporting children with specific needs means that all children make good progress in their learning and development.

Staff support children to make good progress through a well-planned curriculum. Staff support children's engagement in their play and learning through a wide variety of activities. Children are curious and demonstrate their understanding as they engage in interesting discussions. Children are confident and are keen to engage with visitors, showing their treasure maps, for instance. Staff plan the environment well, with children's needs and learning styles in mind. For instance, staff have enhanced outdoor areas and enabled more free-flow play between indoor and outside to support children who favour outdoor learning.

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

• The provider has a vision for the nursery and is committed to enhancing the environment and training staff to provide high-quality care and education for children. The nursery is well resourced, and staff plan for children's learning with their interests in mind, This helps to spark children's love for learning and supports them to make good progress across the curriculum.
• Children's physical development is well promoted. Babies crawl under and climb on low play equipment as staff support their new physical skills. Older children use their strength and coordination to operate water pumps on the water wall. Children enjoy being active in their play which helps them to form good habits for life.
• Staff understand how to sequence children's skill development. For example, staff help children to develop their large muscles and coordination before focusing on their small muscles in preparation for writing. This helps children to learn the right skills at the right time and promotes their learning very well.
• Staff promote children's mathematics skill well. Children learn mathematical concepts and language as they play. For instance, staff support children to fill buckets on either end of a wooden see-saw with wood chips. Children scoop the chips with their spades and estimate and then count how many scoops they need to balance the see-saw. Children develop confidence and proficiency in their early understanding of number and mathematical concepts.
• Staff generally support children's language skills well and older children are confident communicators. Staff use signs with some children with SEND to support their communication. Staff sing and read with children throughout the day. However, on occasion, staff lack confidence in their interactions with younger children and do not always fully support their developing language skills.
• Staff support children with SEND and those in receipt of additional funding particularly well. Staff work closely with outside agencies to access timely and appropriate support. Staff's thorough monitoring and assessment of children's progress supports early intervention to narrow any gaps in children's learning and development. Consequently, all children make good progress from their starting points.
• Staff help children to develop independence and the skills that they will need as they move on to school. For instance, children learn to put on their own coats and to be responsible for their own belongings. Children learn social skills such as how to interact and behave at mealtimes. Children learn and develop key life skills.
• Staff build supportive and friendly relationships with parents. Staff offer advice and signpost parents to support as necessary. Parents value the good communication from staff about their children's learning and the opportunities to contribute and to be involved. This supports the consistency of care and learning for children.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• build on staff's confidence in their interactions with children to raise the quality of education even further.