Tiny Oaks Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children and their parents receive a warm welcome on arrival. Children separate from their parents with support from staff, enabling them to settle into their age-group rooms with ease. They develop strong bonds with staff and show that they feel secure in their care. Babies show great interest in role play, using their imaginative skills and demonstrating their awareness of safety. For example, they understand that food brought out of the oven may be hot and to blow on it to cool it down. Children squeal with delight as they play hide and seek with staff. They enjoy involving staff in their play and talk about the rules, agreeing who is going to count to 10 and then come to find them. Children are resilient. If they take a tumble, they pick themselves up and go back to their play.

The manager plans for what children need to learn next and understands the ways in which to enable staff to achieve this. Children receive effective support from staff when it is time for them to move on to the next age-group room. Staff make sure that children are confident and secure in their environment and developmentally ready. The key person accompanies children on their settling-in sessions to enable a smooth transition. Babies and children learn to be independent, and staff gently remind children about good hygiene and safety practices. They talk about making sure that they have finished their snack before leaving the table.

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

• The provider and manager have made significant changes since the last inspection. They have sought guidance from external professionals to enable them to make targeted improvements. Staff morale is good and teamworking is evident. This has improved the outcomes for children and families.
• The manager assesses staff's teaching skills effectively and identifies strengths and areas for further development. Staff receive effective support and guidance from leaders. They identify training needs for individual staff to extend their knowledge and to enable them to attain professional qualifications. This helps to continually improve the quality of teaching across the nursery.
• Key persons know what children need to learn next and plan effectively to enable them to learn and embed new skills. They share this information with the staff so that they are all aware of children's next steps in learning. This enables staff to make the most of their interactions with children.
• Staff obtain words in languages that children are also learning. However, they do not always explore ways in which they can further embrace children's cultures and heritages. This does not fully support children's awareness of similarities and differences and strengthen their sense of belonging even further.
• Children use technology to carry out research and find answers to their questions. For example, they use a tablet with supervision to look up the sounds that different dinosaurs may have made. They compare these sounds to the sounds they were making to see if they were right. This enables children to learn how to use technology to aid their understanding and improve knowledge.
• Sometimes, staff are not fully aware of how to deploy themselves, including while others are carrying out routine tasks. This means that children do not always have the support they need from staff to manage conflicts that arise. This does not fully support children's understanding of how to work through any differences they may have.
• Children learn about science, such as how ice is formed. They discuss how the water in the tray left out overnight in the cold weather turned to ice and how it feels to touch. They learn that it shatters when dropped and that the cold temperature turns their fingers red. This builds children's understanding of the environment.
• Partnerships with parents are good. Parents appreciate the exchanges of information and the early identification of emerging gaps in learning. This enables staff and parents to work together to reduce these gaps swiftly. Parents report that their children develop good speaking skills and build friendships. They comment that they could not wish for a better nursery.
• The special educational needs coordinators (SENCOs) have a secure knowledge of how best to support children, parents and staff. Staff raise any emerging gaps in learning with the SENCOs and seek additional support when necessary. This enables staff to work in partnership with parents and other professionals to devise strategies and to reduce gaps in learning swiftly.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• build on the effective deployment of staff to consistently support children to manage conflict
• enhance staff's understanding of how to embrace children's cultures and heritages further.