Tiny Toes Nursery LTD (Hoddesdon)

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

There is a broad and ambitious curriculum in place across the nursery for all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Recent changes have been made to better support children's curiosity and positive attitude towards learning. Staff have rearranged the baby room to give babies easier access to interesting resources at their level. Babies push along coloured rollers full of beads to extend their upper body strength through the rolling motion. They express choices, selecting a 'singing spoon' with a picture that represents the song they like, and staff extend their language through song and rhyme.

Staff are attuned to the needs of children with SEND and recognise where children may be overwhelmed by the busy atmosphere of the pre-school room. They use calm areas where children benefit from one-to-one attention. Children spend time exploring sensory resources in a tented area. Other children investigate how electrical items work, dismantling a keyboard with close staff support. Children are given time to regulate their feelings and they return to group relaxed and ready to join in.

Children love stories, and staff bring them to life. Staff know 'We're Going on a Bear Hunt' is a favourite story of the group. They recite the story as children jump through mud, splash through water and climb through tunnels. Children squeal with delight as they run into a wooded area where they find the toy bear in the 'cave'.

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

• Managers closely monitor staff practice and children's development to ensure that the curriculum responds to children's individual needs. Managers and staff are clear about curriculum intentions and what they want children to achieve, and involve parents in their children's learning. Parents praise the nursery and the staff team. They comment on how well the staff maintain effective two-way communication. They share things that their children do at home so that staff can use this in their plans for children's development at nursery.
• Managers create a culture of respect for staff and children which encourages children's positive behaviour. Managers recognised emerging behavioural issues in some rooms. They brought in successful strategies to help children learn to regulate their own behaviour. Alongside regular breaks for children who find it hard to be in a group at times, they have implemented a community awareness programme to give children a positive sense of their own place in the community and to learn how to support others.
• Overall, staff support children's good progress across the nursery. However, in the toddler room, the space is not always well managed, especially during the busy morning period. Staff find it harder to engage children's interests at this time. Staff interaction is more encouraging when they work with smaller groups. For example, children take turns to pour rice and pasta into measuring tubes, using funnels and jugs. Staff commentate on children's play, helping children to link words with their meaning. Staff tell children to 'pour' and 'fill it up'. Children bounce up and down with excitement as they anticipate their turn to pour the pasta.
• The provider uses good support strategies to retain staff. They reward staff through award ceremonies and offer staff development opportunities in lead roles. They use information from detailed staff surveys to oversee staff well-being and workload and make changes that promote staff's well-being and interest in their work. They retain a well-trained and knowledgeable staff team, and children benefit from the close bonds they build with staff over time.
• Children learn control and coordination through a range of activities. For example, children lift boxes to make towers and crawl through tunnels. Babies balance, moving one foot in front of the other while they hold on to staff members' hands. Older children enjoy exploring the outdoor space, using tools with close supervision to hammer and drill nails into wood, taking pride in the structures they have made.
• Staff have attended specific training to improve their support of children's language development. All staff focus on children's speaking skills, providing opportunities for children to hear, use and extend speech. For example, older children conduct experiments by mixing bicarbonate of soda and vinegar. They confidently explain that, 'They mixed together, swelled up and went pop.' Staff repeat children's words to embed new language, praising children for using new words.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• consider the organisation of the space available, both indoors and outdoors, for the toddler age group, to enable them to make the most of learning opportunities.