Three Gables Day Nursery & Pre-School Ashley Cross

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happy and eager to learn. They are greeted warmly and with enthusiasm by the friendly and welcoming staff. Children are confident and settle quickly. They develop strong relationships with staff and show that they feel safe and secure in their care. Babies experience close and loving interactions with staff. The staff conscientiously implement the key-person system to ensure that children's emotional well-being is supported effectively. The nursery closed for a short period during the COVID-19 pandemic. Staff maintained good contact with families of those children not attending during this time and provided video calls and activities to help parents support their children's learning at home. Parents still drop off their children at the door to reduce the risk of infection. Staff collect children from them and ensure that any important information is exchanged with parents.

Children behave well. They learn how to share and take turns. Staff provide a wide range of activities which ignite children's thirst for learning. Babies, for example, show great curiosity as they explore the marks they make as they roll cars through paint. Older children thoroughly enjoy finding objects that start with the same letter sound. Children use their imaginations well. They act out real-life experiences using the many role-play resources. For example, they pretend to have a tea party for the soft toys.

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

• The dedicated manager leads with a strong sense of direction and motivates the team to continually improve. Staff are valued and respected. The manager and staff review the provision regularly to identify areas for improvement. For example, the hard surface outside has been changed to artificial grass so that children can run and play freely and safely.
• Staff recognise the uniqueness of each child. They provide children with special educational needs and/or disabilities with the additional help they need. Staff liaise closely with outside agencies involved in the children's care and incorporate specific targets for children to help support them with their learning.
• Parent partnership is strong. Staff help parents extend their children's learning at home. For example, babies take home sensory bags and all children take home books that they can share with their parents. Staff place a strong focus on literacy. Children of all ages enjoy looking at books and listening to stories.
• The manager carries out regular supervision meetings with staff and observes their practice. She encourages staff to reflect on their own practice by observing the practice of other staff. The manager offers frequent professional development opportunities and staff cascade what they have learned to other staff. For instance, following a sensory course, staff provide more hands-on, sensory play for babies, supporting their learning and development even further.
• Staff support children's speech and language skills well. They ask open-ended questions in a way that encourages older children to explain and talk more about their ideas. Staff provide ample opportunities for children to hear and speak their home languages in their play.
• Children are physically active in their play. Babies who are beginning to walk benefit from negotiating small steps and different levels. Older children delight in running at speed and develop increased control of their bodies during a 'traffic light' game outdoors. All children thoroughly enjoy yoga sessions. This supports children's coordination and physical skills well.
• Staff support children's good health successfully. Children learn about the importance of good hygiene and healthy eating through conversations, activities and routines. Sleeping children are checked frequently and children are provided with nutritious hot meals.
• Staff encourage children to be independent. Older children skilfully serve their own food. Babies use spoons to feed themselves. Children pour their own drinks and manage their self-care needs. They independently use the toilet and wash their hands afterwards.
• The manager and staff have developed a well-designed curriculum. Staff sequence and match learning activities to children's developmental stages and needs effectively. They make accurate assessments and record these on the 'online interactive diary' which is shared with parents. However, very occasionally, staff try to teach too much during small-group work. Children become a little overwhelmed and do not take in all of the information.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to plan adult-led activities more effectively to enable children to make the best possible progress.