Tiny Talkers Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happy and are warmly welcomed by staff. Staff build positive relationships with children, who look to them for reassurance and comfort when they need it. Staff know the children well and use their knowledge of children's abilities to provide an environment that supports their learning. For example, babies develop their physical skills as they pull themselves up and hold onto the large plastic tray to explore the different textures of its contents. Staff supervise older children well to promote their safety as they navigate climbing up wobbly planks. Children receive praise from staff when they achieve this, which helps them to develop confidence in their abilities. Children are provided with a range of activities which follow their interests. For example, staff support pre-school children to learn about planting and growing after finding seeds inside fruit during snack time. They help children to plant strawberries and beans, and children excitedly watch as they grow and ripen. Children proudly share facts about the fruit they have grown.

Staff have high expectations of children's behaviour. They support children to recognise their emotions and resolve conflicts. For example, children tell their friends that it makes them happy when they share. Staff encourage children to lead their own play and promote their independence. Children work together to gather a variety of pots, pans, soft blocks and planks of wood to create an assault course in the garden. When complete, children say, 'It's so cool.'

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

• The staff know the children well. They gather information from parents and use observations of children to identify any gaps in their learning and to help target their support. This includes helping children to develop their knowledge of outer space, including the moon and stars, and how to make a space rocket.
• The curriculum that the manager and staff implement is relatively new. Staff generally have high aspirations for children and know what they want children to learn in each group room. However, staff do not always consider the individual learning needs of children. As a result, learning is not always appropriately targeted where children need it the most.
• Staff support children's communication and language skills well. For example, staff respond appropriately to the sounds that babies make, mimicking back- and-forth communication as they babble. Staff introduce new words to help build on older children's vocabulary. For example, during story time, children learn words such as 'scared' and 'swishy'.
• Overall, the new management team organises the nursery and share its vision effectively with the staff. However, staff are not yet deployed well enough to maximise children's learning outdoors. Not all children benefit from interactions with staff during outdoor activities.
• Staff use effective strategies to help children show positive behaviour. This includes developing nursery rules to help children to understand what is expected of them. Children understand these and share them with their peers, such as by being kind to each other, using their 'walking feet' indoors and sharing.
• Staff encourage children to be independent. They teach children to wash their hands and put on their coats. Young children seek and find their shoes from the shoe box and show high levels of resilience as they attempt to put on their own shoes. Pre-school children are encouraged to prepare and cut their snacks. Children develop the skills they need for the next stage of their learning.
• Staff feel supported by the management team. Regular staff meetings and supervision sessions allow staff the opportunity to talk about their key children and raise any concerns they may have. Staff receive training that supports their professional development. For example, staff recently completed specific training to support their knowledge of how to care for babies.
• Parents are happy with the care their children receive at the nursery. They speak positively about the changes the new owner has implemented. This includes decorating the nursery and introducing an online app, which keeps parents up to date with their child's time at the nursery. Parents comment that their children are making progress and learning new things. They say that their children are happy and eager to attend.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop the implementation of the curriculum to ensure that the individual learning needs of all children are fully met
• deploy staff more effectively outdoors to support and engage all children in learning.