Top Tots Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children come in happily and are warmly greeted by staff. They help children feel safe and secure within the provision. For example, staff use visual timetables to ensure that everyone understands the routine of the day. There are strong attachments between children and staff. They know their children very well and are able to plan activities that build on children's learning through their interests.

Children behave well. They know and understand the boundaries of the provision. They are keen to share their thoughts, ideas and feelings with staff who actively listen and encourage children to develop their ideas further. Children confidently select the resources they would like to play with. They engage well with their peers and enjoy including others in their play.

Staff help children learn to take care of their own personal hygiene needs. For example, all children, including the youngest, learn how to brush their teeth and wash their hands independently. Staff teach children the importance of healthy diets and encourage children to prepare their own snack. For example, staff support older children as they chop up their own apples and pears for snack.

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

• The curriculum focuses on children's personal, social and emotional development as well as their communication and language skills. These have been identified as key areas for the children in their care by managers. The curriculum is designed to appropriately challenge children and extend their learning and development as they progress through the nursery.
• All children make good progress, especially children who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They are well prepared for the next stage in their learning, such as the transition to school.
• Overall, staff know what they want children to learn. However, some less experienced staff are not yet fully secure in their understanding of the curriculum aims. This affects how well they include these in children's next steps for learning and development.
• Staff ensure that they weave mathematics throughout their interactions with children. For example, younger children learn about 'big' and 'little' as they play with spoons in the water, and older children learn about the concept of 'one more'. This helps to build on children's knowledge of mathematical language.
• Staff provide a language-rich curriculum through extending children's vocabulary, singing frequently and reading stories regularly. For example, staff clearly label the tools used in a water activity. However, in some situations, staff do not always remember to give children time to respond to instructions and questions before asking the next. This means, at times, support of communication and language is not always as successful.
• Children who speak English as an additional language are supported very well, and staff ensure that they include children's home languages within the nursery. For example they have voice notes of familiar words in their home language spoken by their family. Staff use different ways of communicating, such as using objects of reference to help children quickly build their vocabulary. This helps children to develop ways of communicating with adults and their peers quickly.
• Children with SEND have their needs met well. Staff are kind, caring and supportive. They work closely with other professionals to help children make good progress in their learning and development. Staff plan activities to aid children's learning even further. For example, they use bubbles in an activity to build on children's listening and attention as well as their non-verbal communication skills.
• Managers use additional funding well to support the needs of individual children. For example, managers purchased a sand box for the garden to enhance children's fine motor skills as they identified a gap in learning. This supports children's development by using resources that will interest them and gain their attention.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen further staff's understanding of the curriculum aims and intentions for children's learning
• enhance the strategies used by staff to allow children sufficient time to respond to questions.