Tootsies Private Day Nursery Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive at this nursery to warm greetings, hugs and smiles from staff. They benefit from the nursery ethos to help children become independent, curious learners. For instance, staff enable children to explore materials and develop their own ideas rather than focus on an end product. Older children are provided with the materials to make their own play dough, but staff allow them to add too much water or too much flour, so they can experiment and see what happens. Toddlers also spend a considerable amount of time exploring different materials, such as sand. They show good imagination as they pretend to make cakes. The staff working with the youngest children support them well to settle into nursery life. They respond quickly to babies' needs and offer soothing interactions and gentle cuddles when babies wake from their sleep.

Staff provide an inclusive setting. They make sure that all children benefit from a full range of learning experiences, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. For example, children take part in woodwork, sports and yoga sessions. Children are polite and well behaved. They are confident to express their thoughts and share their ideas.

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

• Staff take pride in helping children learn about the world around them. Babies are often taken out for walks, and older children take the bus to go for swimming lessons. They also visit a local care home for the elderly, which helps them develop respect for others and gain a greater understanding of their place in society.
• Managers value the staff and demonstrate an accurate insight into areas for future development, with a current focus on staff training. Some staff have recently completed a course on neuroscience, which has changed the way they look at attachments and children's feelings. Other staff have started training on speech and language. This has yet to have an impact as some younger children spend longer than they need with their dummies in their mouths. This limits their opportunities to use the words and phrases they are hearing and learning.
• Staff talk and sing to children and engage in back-and-forth conversations. They show interest in what children have to say. Occasionally, however, staff's exchanges with children are not always pitched at the right level. They can at times be either too advanced or not challenging enough. For example, staff sometimes ask closed questions or ask children questions in quick succession, without giving them time to answer.
• Children have good opportunities to engage in risky play while being supported by adults. For instance, staff hold children's hands as they jump down from large tyres in the garden. Staff encourage children to be safe and reinforce rules and expectations, such as wearing helmets when using the bikes. Children demonstrate their understanding by tapping their heads and going to the shed where the helmets are kept.
• Staff promote children's social skills and independence well. They plan lots of activities that enable children to share and take turns. As a result, older children have learned to play collaboratively in their self-chosen activities. For example, children work together to build ramps for their cars and wait patiently for their turn. Children help to clean the tables ready for mealtimes and wash their own plates after they have eaten. Staff are generous with the praise they give children.
• Staff observe children as they play and have a good understanding of their interests and needs. They plan and deliver a range of activities and learning experiences that motivate children to learn. At times, the planning for the afternoons is not always as well considered. For instance, staff do not set up a range of activities for babies after lunch until they have all woken, meaning those who are awake have less to do.
• Parents are happy with the care and education their children receive. They feel they receive good communication about their child's learning and progress. Parents comment that the staff are caring, kind and considerate and know their children well. They feel their children are safe and well prepared to start school.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to develop a greater understanding of children's communication and language development and how to enable younger children to confidently spend less time using their dummies, so they have more opportunities to use the words and phrases they are learning
• strengthen staff's interactions with children, to help them recognise when to simplify their exchanges with younger children and when to hold more in-depth conversations with the older and most able children to develop their thinking skills
• support staff to plan more precisely for the afternoons, so that children continue to benefit from good-quality activities and learning experiences throughout the day.