Tops Day Nursery - Lakeside

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children play positively in this respectful and caring nursery. They receive support from the kind and friendly staff who know them well. Children have close bonds with staff, who understand and respond quickly to their needs, making them feel safe and secure to learn. Children are given equal consideration, and the team uses children's individual interests to build on their play and learning.

Children are treated with high respect. Staff communicate effectively with them and offer encouragement to complete self-care tasks. They give children the opportunity to wipe their noses and pour their water independently. Children are given time and encouragement to keep trying and persevere with tasks. For example, they are given time to put on their own socks and encouraged to keep trying when it can be 'tricky'. Staff are great role models and children behave well.

Children respond positively to staff and are eager to play alongside familiar adults and friends. They excitedly learn how to count when collecting objects. They build bridges with bricks and solve problems, as they fix them when they fall. Children enjoy the sensory opportunities available to experiment with measuring water and scooping sand and testing volumes in containers. They enjoy joining in with familiar songs and rhymes and sit together to enjoy healthy snacks and lunch.

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

• The leadership team is strong. The manager and the deputy work well together. Communication between them is effective and they place a high importance on improving staff practice and providing further opportunities to widen experiences for children who attend. For example, children visit the residents in a local care home, learning about others in the community. They travel by bus to add to the richness of the experience.
• Staff know the children well. They use activities to promote curiosity in children's learning. For example, they use tweezers to pick up shells in water and drop them down a water shoot into the water tray. Children clap and jump with excitement as the water splashes. However, not all children are fully engaged in play, as some staff miss opportunities to identify children who need help joining in, such as children with English as an additional language, which would maximise their learning.
• The key-person system is effective, and staff know children and families well. For example, staff implement role-play opportunities linked to children's experiences, such as medical play to engage children further. Children enjoy bandaging up staff and making appointments. As a result children use new words and language.
• The manager effectively supports the staff team. Staff regularly reflect on their practice, complete training and attend meetings to share ideas. The manager has a clear vision for the setting and is passionate about teaching children to be independent and to expand on their experiences. She uses her knowledge and skills to model effectively to her staff. However, some staff do not always provide further challenge during play to expand on children's skills and ideas.
• Partnerships with parents work well. Support is promptly provided for parents when necessary. Information about children's progress and next stages in learning is shared regularly. Parents are given ideas to support children's learning at home. Parents report that children are happy, settled and make good progress. Parents praise the nursery for quick communication, and feel staff dedicate time to share information about their children's progress.
• Support is actioned promptly by the special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff are quick to identify needs and work closely with parents. The SENCo works effectively with outside agencies and as a result children receive timely support and continue to make progress.
• Children sit together to brush their teeth. They discuss the benefits and importance of looking after their teeth as part of oral health. Children learn about the sustainable environment, for example, they take part in daily recycling and learn about their sustainable toys and nursery. Children learn about staying healthy as they enjoy physical games outside with friends.
• Children behave well in the nursery. They use 'golden rules' as part of their learning about British values. They learn to be kind and caring to each other. Staff support children to share their feelings and understand how to manage behaviours.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to consistently engage children in their learning, particularly those with English as an additional language
• develop staff's skills to recognise opportunities to further challenge and extend ideas in learning.