Tiger Cubs Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children of all ages are confident and happy during their time in the safe and hygienic nursery. Staff have a strong knowledge of the curriculum and, overall, implement the motivating activities successfully. They have a high expectation of what children can achieve. For instance, staff teach children about different mini beasts and what habitats they thrive in. Children are keen to join in with the interesting activities that staff carefully plan for them. For example, children excitedly carry out a bug hunt and are keen to count and compare the sizes of the worms they have found. Babies enjoy investigating different textures. Staff teach them about how things feel and sound. For example, they talk about water feeling cold and wet and make splash noises as they fill and empty containers during water play.

Staff are positive role models. All children behave well and are polite. They show kindness towards each other. For example, they help each other to complete tasks. Children learn about the benefits of healthy lifestyles. For instance, they brush their teeth at nursery and talk about the importance of doing so. Children of all ages develop good physical skills and learn to move in different ways. For example, they confidently and safely use age-appropriate climbing and balancing equipment, including tunnels and bridges.

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

• The highly qualified and experienced manager has supported staff very well to make significant improvements since their last inspection. Staff feel well supported and part of an effective and happy team. They know their key children well, including their individual needs and abilities. This helps them to plan motivating and challenging activities to support them to make progress.
• All staff fully understand how children learn and develop. They know children's routines and allow them to choose from a wide range of experiences indoors and outdoors. This helps children feel valued and builds on their independence.
• All staff establish secure and trusting relationships with children. This helps all children, including the babies settle quickly into the setting. Children enjoy the positive interactions and laugh and giggle happily as they play with staff.
• Staff support all children to make good progress, including those children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. For example, staff implement useful strategies that support children. This includes using sign language and visual prompts to support children who have a hearing impairment.
• All children demonstrate a positive attitude towards their learning and, overall, they are engaged in their learning experiences. However, staff do not always organise some larger group activities well to ensure all children who choose to participate get the most out of their learning. This includes not providing them with enough space to fully explore their play.
• The manager and staff establish positive partnerships with parents, who speak very highly of them. Staff keep parents well involved and informed about their children, including what they have been doing and their next steps in their learning. Parents praise the 'obvious and incredible' improvements that have been made.
• The manager closely monitors the quality of care and teaching children receive. Staff evaluate together as a team. They reflect daily on what they could change to continue to enhance practice. This includes highlighting any potential training needs.
• All staff attend regular and beneficial training. They have recently learned about the different ways children learn and develop, including babies. This has helped staff to understand how to plan their curriculum successfully.
• Overall, staff support children's communication skills well. For example, staff make good use of effective questioning to encourage children's language. In addition, all children enjoy singing and listening to stories. Most staff are confident to provide an environment that is rich in language, such as providing a meaningful commentary, to help children work out the meaning and context of words. However, this is not consistently achieved as well by those working with the youngest children.
• All staff ensure the setting is inclusive and diverse. They support children to develop a good understanding of other cultures and languages from around the world. For instance, children learn words, such as hello in other languages, including Polish. They learn about other countries, such as how Greece, traditionally celebrate birthdays.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen staff confidence in organising group activities to more effectively support the learning of all children taking part
• support staff to more consistently build on the communication skills of the youngest children.