The Sunshine Centre

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Leaders have made significant improvements since the last inspection. Through reflective practice and ongoing professional development, they have developed staff skills and practice to support best outcomes for children.

Children are happy, curious and confident at nursery. They are quick to engage in a range of interesting and inviting activities that have been carefully planned to meet the interests and needs of children. Children focus for good periods of time in activities developing their skills in collaborative play and learning. Children are kind and respectful to their friends and the adults caring for them. Staff praise and encourage positive behaviour and set clear expectations of the children's attitude towards their learning. Through interactions and conversation, staff help children begin to manage their emotions and this supports them in building friendships with others.

Staff encourage and effectively support children's communication and language development. Children begin to learn sign language and new vocabulary through a range of activities. For example, children learn about insects and life cycles. Staff teach children about the life cycle of caterpillars. Children observe and talk about their caterpillars and what will happen next. Staff use descriptive language and ask questions that support children's thinking skills and build their understanding of language and new words to describe what they can see.

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

• Leaders have a clear and ambitious vision of what they want children to learn. They support staff in developing their curriculum to plan and provide a range of learning opportunities that support children's interests. Children engage and focus in independent play and adult-led activities. They show enthusiasm and joy as they engage in their learning with staff and their friends.
• Leaders have constructed a sequenced and effective curriculum that is understood and build on children's skills and abilities as they progress through the nursery. Staff work together to support children's transitions. They share key information that helps them to continually support their emotional development and their current learning goals, building on and developing their next steps. However, at times, during small group activities staff do not consistently adapt their teaching to meet the individual needs of the children engaged in the activity. This does not consistently support children to build on their next steps in learning.
• Staff know how to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) effectively. For example, during a group activity they provide the support and guidance to enable all children to engage and focus on their play. Children learn to take turns and focus for periods of time building relationships with others. However, leaders do not consistently support staff to monitor and assess children's progress closely and precisely, so they know that the teaching they provide is having a positive impact.
• Communication and language development is a priority in the setting. Staff have developed their skills and understanding of language development to provide the interactions and conversations that model and support children to learn new vocabulary. Staff model conversation and children learn communication is a two-way interaction of speaking and listening.
• Staff support children's development of early literacy skills through storytelling, creative and imaginative play. For example, pre-school children explore shaving foam and staff encourage them to talk about and describe its texture and the marks they can make in the foam. Children make good progress in this area of their development. For example, some children are beginning to make the shapes of some of the letters in their names.
• Staff place a strong emphasis on positive behaviour and mutual respect. They support children in managing behaviour through modelling positive behaviour and attitudes. For example, when children begin to lose focus and run through the room staff are polite and caring when explaining why it is safer to walk through the room and help redirect play to meet their needs. Children behave well and show positive attitudes to their learning. They engage and focus on the chosen activities and are polite and respectful when sharing and turn taking with their friends.
• Leaders value strong partnerships with parents, ensuring open communication about children's progress. They share regular feedback and progress reports, helping parents know how they can support further learning at home.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen teaching to offer more precisely targeted support for children's individual learning and next steps
• enhance strategies for monitoring children's progress, particularly for those with SEND, to help them consistently make the progress they are capable of.