Tigers Tots Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thrive in this bright and inviting nursery. They behave well and settle quickly as staff know the families and their routines well. Parents feel supported by staff and are happy to drop children off at the door. Children feel safe as they come in and look for their friends. They relish their time outside and demonstrate good physical dexterity as they balance on slopes and navigate obstacles as they ride on tricycles. Staff teach children to take appropriate risks and challenges as they play, building their confidence and self-esteem.

Staff plan and provide a range of inviting activities. This helps children to remain engaged in their play for long periods of time. Toddlers enjoy the sensory feel of shaving foam in messy play. Staff provide small vehicles for the children to make marks in the foam. This supports children to build strong hand muscles in readiness for early writing. Babies enjoy water play, and staff model washing a doll with a cloth. Babies watch staff intently and then copy the actions and wipe the dolls. This helps them to learn about everyday routines. The owner acts with integrity in using the funding that the nursery receives and goes beyond this to provide personalised support to children who need it the most. All children make very good progress in relation to their starting points.

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

• The nursery benefits from a dedicated and experienced owner and senior leadership team. They are committed to providing a high standard of care and education for children in the local community. Partnership working is a strength of the nursery, and the well-established links with various external professionals ensure all children receive the relevant support and intervention to help them thrive.
• Children benefit from a wide range of activities and a broad curriculum that follows children's interests and builds on what they already know and can do. Staff observe children to make sure they are achieving the individual targets set for them, and they set new targets for children regularly. However, occasionally, some targets for learning are not specific enough to help children make the best possible progress in their learning.
• Staff understand the needs of individual children and have created a warm and inclusive setting where all children are welcomed and celebrated. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive excellent support. The special educational needs and disabilities coordinators quickly identify gaps in children's learning and implement strategies swiftly to support individual needs. They access external services, such as speech and language support and other health professionals, to initiate targeted support. This helps to narrow any gaps in children's development.
• Children are physically active. They happily climb and run outside in the fresh air and join in with musical instrument sessions and yoga classes indoors. Staff support children to learn about keeping their teeth healthy through regular toothbrushing and eating healthy foods. Children are independent. They serve their own food for lunch, pour their own drinks and are encouraged to wipe their face and hands after mealtimes. As a result, children know how to make choices to benefit their health.
• Children are fluent and articulate talkers. They share their ideas and tell visitors all about what they like to do at nursery. Staff support their language development very well. During story time, an experienced practitioner demonstrates how to use a range of props to support the storytelling. This helps to keep the children engaged.
• Occasionally, staff do not always deploy themselves to best effect so that all children are excellently supported. At times, they overly focus on routines and tasks. This means that they sometimes overlook children who are not engaged in purposeful play and learning.
• Parents speak highly about the nursery and comment on the progress their children have made. They express their gratitude for how much staff have helped them to develop as parents and the constant support they provide to families. Staff include parents in all aspects of their children's learning and conduct home visits to ease the settling process. Children are exceptionally well supported during the transition into the nursery and in their move on to school.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• refine and embed the newly implemented curriculum plans to ensure that staff have more precise intentions about what they want children to learn
• support staff to deploy themselves more effectively to ensure that all children are supported even more consistently in their play and learning.