TLC

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thrive at this warm and welcoming nursery. They confidently greet staff as they arrive and quickly settle down to play. Children show that they feel safe and demonstrate affectionate bonds with staff. For instance, babies and toddlers seek reassuring cuddles and snuggle up with staff for a story. Children enjoy their time together and develop good friendships. They are helpful and willingly assist with tasks, such as sweeping up the sand after play.

Children learn to enjoy healthy and active lifestyles. For example, the nursery routine includes daily exercise indoors and outdoors. Children have fun exploring the climbing apparatus and enjoy activities such as yoga and football. Consequently, they learn that there are many enjoyable and exciting ways to keep their bodies fit and strong.

The manager and staff want the best for all children. They provide attentive care and focused learning opportunities to support all areas of their development. Children make good progress and are enthusiastic about learning. For example, babies are eager to explore the textures of materials, such as foam, flour and water, during messy play. They sustain their interest for extended periods as they investigate the various sounds, smells and sensations.

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

• The owner and manager lead the team well and have worked hard to rectify weaknesses identified at the last inspection. They have improved staff deployment and strengthened the systems to monitor staff practice. This has had a positive effect on children's behaviour and learning.
• Staff speak enthusiastically about recent training and how they plan to implement new ideas. For instance, a course about 'schemas' has helped staff to understand why children repeat actions, such as filling containers or transporting objects. Staff describe how they will actively support children's schemas, to help them learn about the world and how things work.
• The provision for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is a strength. Staff work effectively with parents and other professionals to implement targeted support. They make effective use of additional funding to provide specialist resources and one-to-one teaching for children, to help them access all parts of the curriculum. Consequently, children with SEND make good progress and the gaps in their learning are closing.
• Children develop their language and communication skills well. They have abundant opportunities to sing, converse and share stories with staff throughout the day. As a result, children express themselves confidently and use a broad variety of words.
• The quality of teaching is generally good. For example, staff use questioning effectively to support children's thinking skills. However, on occasion, staff step in too quickly to offer help, rather than encouraging children to persevere. Therefore, children sometimes give up easily when challenges occur.
• Children are keen to join in with activities and clearly enjoy their learning. For example, pre-school age children are confident in their attempts at early writing. During a counting activity, they use marks to record quantities and some children proudly demonstrate that they can write numerals.
• Staff value children's unique experiences and celebrate their cultural traditions through the nursery routines and activities. Children also learn about different communities and ways of life. For example, they discover some of the foods and traditions linked to Chinese New Year celebrations. This helps them to understand and respect similarities and differences between themselves and others.
• Staff generally provide good support for children's behaviour. For instance, they teach older children how to count out the time until it is their turn to use the resources. Therefore, children learn to take turns and share fairly. However, occasionally, during group activities, staff do not clearly explain what will happen and how they expect children to behave. Consequently, some children are not sure what to do and their learning is reduced.
• Partnerships with parents are strong. Parents were extremely keen to share their positive comments about the nursery. They describe the kind and friendly staff, who always welcome children with a smile. Parents say that staff keep them well informed about their children's progress and give them ideas to help continue children's learning at home.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• help staff to know when to offer children encouragement rather than help, to further support children's perseverance and problem-solving skills
• support staff to provide clear explanations and consistent guidance for behaviour during group activities, to help children understand what is expected of them.